Locked In
by SelfControl
Summary: George has finally had enough of Derek and Casey's fighting and decides to punish them by locking them in the basement for a day, hoping that they will finally get along. But Derek has more in mind than just "getting along" with Casey. Derek/Casey
1. It's Only a Lamp

**I know the title is kinda cheesy but I'm not a title person unfortunetely... =( But anyway... I've been reading a bunch of Derek/Casey fics and decided to write my own when I got an idea. Now, I am not a supporter at all for incest, I find it disgusting and so wrong, but since Derek and Casey aren't blood related, technically it's not that bad... At least I think... So here is my story and I hope you enjoy it. =]**

**Disclaimer: Obviously I don't LWD or else I would figure out a way for Derek and Casey to be together on the show... And I don't own any of the products, etc, that are mentioned thoughout the story either.**

**Rated T for some small sexual references. **

**Chapter 1**

**It's Only a Lamp**

It was Saturday, 10 AM, as Casey got up out of bed and walked out of her room towards the bathroom. She was just about to open the door when Derek zoomed past her and beat her to it.

"Morning Loser!" He said as he shoved open the door and slammed it in her face.

"Der-ek!" She cried.

"What'd he do now?" Lizzie asked with a yawn as she opened her bedroom door that Casey was standing in front of.

"I was about to use the bathroom when _Derek_ shoved me out the way!" She yelled so that he could hear her.

"Next time be a little faster, Miss. Turtle!" His voice shouted from inside as he laughed.

Casey groaned as she crossed her legs and did the pee dance, "Hurry up!"

"Hey, I'm going as fast as I can here. Don't rush me or I'll take longer."

"Why can't we have more than one bathroom?" Casey asked as she turned to look at her little sister.

"Mom and George have one in the basement. Ask to use theirs." Lizzie suggested as she shrugged her shoulders.

"That's right!" Casey beamed as she headed for the stairs.

"Nice try but Dad and Nora went grocery shopping with Marti." Derek called.

"So...?"

"So, the basement door is locked." He chuckled.

Casey growled as she formed her hands into fists and started banging on the door, "Derek, get out of that bathroom now!"

"Does poor little Casey have to pee?" She heard Derek ask in a mocking voice.

"Derek if you don't get out of there this minute I'll..."

The door flew open and Derek walked out in blue boxers and an orange t-shirt with a grin plastered on his face, "You'll what, nut-Case?"

She huffed, ignoring him and shoved him out of the way as she walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

Once Casey was done relieving her bladder she washed her hands and walked out only to be greeted by the bane of her existence once again.

"Feel better?" He asked as he crossed his arms across his chest and leaned against the wall.

"Why do you insist on annoying me constantly every day?" She asked with a frown as she stared at him.

"Nice pjs." He replied as he eyed up her appearance. She was wearing pink shorts with a blue tank top.

Casey scoffed with her hands on her hips, "What?"

"You should cover yourself up a little more, Case, don't you think?"

"Excuse me? Who's the one in his underwear?"

All he did was laugh as he started walking down the stairs.

Casey sighed and was about to go change her clothes when she decided she'd rather stay in her pyjamas. She was comfy and it was hot in the house. _If he doesn't like it, too bad_. She thought as she ran down past him with a smirk. Derek was about to sit down in his chair and grab the remote when Casey lunged forward and grabbed the remote off the coffee table before he had a chance.

"What are you doing?" He asked with surprise.

"_I_ am going to watch some television if you don't mind." She said as she sat down on the couch and began to flip through the channels with a smile.

Derek stared at her for a few seconds before he grabbed her hand and tried to take the remote from her.

"Derek!" Casey yelled as she pulled away from him, still gripping the remote in her hand.

"Give me the remote." Derek sat up in his chair.

Casey stood up and Derek did the same, standing about a foot away from each other.

"You want the remote?" Casey challenged. "Well too bad." She made a pouty lip as she waved the remote in his face and then placed it behind her back with a grin. "It's mine."

Suddenly Derek jumped on her, shoving her to the couch on her back.

"Get off of me!" She shouted.

"Not until you give me the remote." He said as he straddled her waist with a smirk.

Casey tried to shove him off and move from underneath him but he grabbed her arms and pinned them down above her head.

"Now what are you going to do, Princess?" He said as he leaned towards her face.

"Take the remote! I don't care! Just get off of me, Derek!" She cried.

She was beginning to feel very uncomfortable with how close their bodies were and she suddenly felt very stupid for not changing when she'd had the chance. She hated the feeling of their skin touching. It sent shivers down her spine. _We're both practically naked! What was I thinking?_

"I think you like this." Derek sneered as he moved his face even closer to hers.

"You're disgusting!" She cringed beneath him as he licked his lips.

_He's not going to kiss me is he?_ Casey thought with fear.

She stared into his eyes for a moment as his face got even closer to hers, not sure what he was thinking, but hoping this was all just a joke. He seemed so serious all of a sudden and it scared her.

_What would it be like to kiss Derek Venturi?_ The thought suddenly appeared in her mind and she recoiled instantly. _Eeew! Who cares! He's your step-brother for crying out loud! What are you thinking? You don't want to kiss Derek! It's wrong, completely and utterly wrong! Not to mention GROSS!!_

Casey's eyes went wide when she realized his lips were only inches from hers and she was about to say something when she heard a voice from behind them.

"Uh... What are you doing?" It was Edwin's voice.

_Thank you, Edwin! _Her mind praised.

Derek looked at Casey and then back where Edwin was standing as he slowly moved away from her.

_Is that disappointment in his eyes or am I just seeing things? _Casey wondered. She couldn't break her eyes from his as he still sat on top of her.

"You two weren't just... uh..."

Casey suddenly realized how wrong this must look with Derek on top of her, both of them hardly dressed, and she quickly tried to explain, "I... It's not what you think, Ed...Edwin..." She stammered.

Derek only grinned, "Casey couldn't control herself. You know how irresistible I am." He winked.

Casey couldn't believe he'd just said that, "You Pig!" She exclaimed. "You're the one on top of _me_!" Casey couldn't take it any longer and somehow developed some super human strength she didn't know she had and shoved him off of her. Derek crashed to the floor with a thump and Casey stood up as she threw the remote at him. It hit his head and he yelled out in pain, "Hey!"

"Take your stupid remote! It's not worth it!"

He rubbed the sore spot on his head and then looked up at her as she crossed her arms.

"Oh, come on, Casey, you know you liked it." He sneered.

Casey scowled with disgust as she turned to walk away but Derek stuck his foot out and before Casey could react she tripped on it and fell flat on her face.

Derek burst out laughing, proud of his accomplishment.

"DER-EK!" Casey screamed now really angry this time. She grabbed the closest thing to her, which was a pillow, and threw it at him in rage, but Derek ducked and the pillow slammed into her mother's lamp, knocking it over with a loud _crash_.

"What was that?" They heard Nora call from the kitchen just as she entered the door with George.

_Great timing... _Casey thought as she shot a worried look at Derek and Edwin.

"I'm out of here!" Edwin said as he dashed up the stairs in a hurry.

George and Nora entered the living room with bags of groceries still in their hands to find the shattered lamp all over the floor.

Nora gasped and dropped the bag as she glared at the two teens, "What happened?"

Marti stood behind them and then quickly ran up the stairs as fast as she could, singing, "Someone's in trouble..."

Casey was still on the floor, propped up on her elbows and Derek was now standing, trying to hide the smirk on his face.

"It was his fault!"

"It was her fault!"

They both shouted at once.

"That was my favourite lamp. My grandmother gave that to me." Nora said as she covered her mouth, almost in tears.

"Casey's the one that hit it." Derek said.

Casey glared at him as she got to her feet. "Mom, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hit it. Derek tripped me and..."

"You threw the remote at my head!"

"And you wouldn't get off of me!"

They were both shouting at each other when George suddenly cut through both of their voices, "Shut up!" Both teens stopped immediately and looked at him. His face was red and he had a fierce look in his eyes as he set his bag of groceries on the table. "I cannot believe you two! You're both almost eighteen, which is considered an adult in some provinces, and yet you act like two juvenile children around each other!" He fumed. "When is this bickering ever going to end? You have been living with each other for almost four years now and you still can't seem to get along. Why? Now because of your fighting, you have broken Nora's lamp!"

"George, it's only a lamp." Nora tried to defend them.

"It's not just the lamp that I'm upset about. Don't you see? I am sick of this fighting! Edwin and Lizzie are the same age and you don't see them fighting all the time, do you?" He threw his arms in the air, "I've had enough! For once I would like to see the two of you get along!"

"But, George..." Casey tried to say but he cut her off.

"I want both of you to go upstairs to your bedrooms until I figure out what to do with you."

"You can't be serious, Dad? You're actually sending us to our rooms?" Derek snorted with his hands on his hips.

"Oh, I am serious," George snapped, "Now go!" He said as he pointed up the stairs with his finger.

Casey felt like crying and strangling Derek both at the same time. George rarely got mad like that, so she knew he was serious and it actually frightened her a bit.

_What is he going to do? _She wondered as she slowly made her way up the stairs, glancing warily at her mother.

Once they'd made it to the top of the stairs, Casey stopped Derek and glared at him, "This is all _your_ fault and you know it!" She whispered harshly.

"Uh, who was the one that stole the remote in the first place?" He whispered back with a smirk.

"Well maybe I wouldn't have done that if you hadn't been such a jerk earlier with the bathroom!" She said as she shoved him with her finger.

"In your rooms, now!" They heard George yell.

Casey took one last fierce look at her step-brother and then walked inside her room as he walked into his, both of them slamming the doors behind them.

**I hope you liked the first chapter. There will be more to come soon, when you review because I really like reviews. They make me happy. =]**


	2. What a Great Punishment!

**Wow... I did not think I would be updating on the second day but when I saw your reviews I was extremely happy. I am so glad you guys like this story so far and are giving it a chance. Thank you to all who reviewed! You guys rock! So this is for you. =]**

**Chapter 2**

**What a Great Punishment!**

"So what do you think he's going to do?" Lizzie asked as she sat on the end of Casey's bed. She'd entered the bedroom right after Casey had, after hearing the yelling that had gone on downstairs.

Casey explained the whole story to Lizzie - well except the part where she was sure Derek was about to kiss her - and now Casey was lying with her head in her pillow wishing she could use it to suffocate a certain annoyance in her life named Derek.

Casey looked at her sister and sighed, "I honestly don't know, but whatever it is I know it's going to involve Derek and I "getting along or else"_._" She air quoted with her fingers.

"I don't get why you two have to fight all the time..." Lizzie mumbled.

"I can't believe you just said that!" Casey stared at her sister in shock. "Hello! It's not always my fault! For some reason Derek enjoys making my life miserable."

"Well why don't you try to ignore him? Giving in to him only ever makes things worse for you, Case."

"I have _tried_ to ignore him with all my might! He just always seems to find a way to make me react. You're so lucky you got Edwin as the step-brother your age."

"Edwin's not perfect either. He bugs me too."

"Not every second of every day." Casey eyed her sister.

Lizzie sighed, "No, but he still gets on my nerves sometimes."

"Well lucky for you it's only _sometimes_. Try having it _all the time_." Casey said as she dropped her head in her pillow again. "I wish Derek would just grow up and leave me alone for good." She mumbled.

"Derek isn't _always_ that bad, Casey, and you know it." Lizzie said.

Casey ignored her sister's comment. She knew she was right but she didn't want to admit it. Sure, Derek could be a decent guy sometimes and he was really great with Marti, but it still didn't make up for the fact that he was also a conniving jerk as well.

Her mind suddenly wandered to when Derek was on top of her and his face was moving closer and closer to hers. _Why would Derek want to kiss me? That's completely absurd! He hates me and I hate him! But... the way he was looking at me... No! It's only your mind trying to deceive you, Casey! But if he had really kissed me... would I have kissed him back? _She had to think about that for a moment.

"Never!" Casey suddenly shouted, catching Lizzie off guard.

"Never what?" Lizzie eyed her suspiciously.

_Did I just speak out loud? Oops. _Casey covered her mouth and looked at her sister who was waiting for an explanation.

"Um... Sorry, Liz, it's nothing."

"Whatever." Lizzie sighed.

* * *

Edwin looked at his brother in confusion as he entered his bedroom and closed the door, "what do you want now?" Derek had texted him on his cell phone saying Get Your Butt in Here NOW, so Edwin had no choice but to listen to him.

"Dad's really mad." Derek said as he looked up at him from his computer chair.

"Yeah, I could hear him yelling all the way from the attic."

"I'm afraid he's actually considering punishing me and Casey."

"So what? It's not like you haven't been punished before." Edwin shrugged.

"Yeah, well it's usually just grounding... but I don't think he's using that option this time... or else he would have come out and said it then."

"So what do you want with me?"

"You, my younger brother that adores me so much, is going to go see what he is up to." Derek said as he folded his hands in his lap with a smile.

Edwin rolled his eyes, "Why don't _you_ go find out, my brother who only adores_ himself_."

Derek was slightly taken aback that Edwin was actually standing up to him so boldly.

_Well, he is getting older... I guess it's about time... But still, I am the eldest, so what I say goes. _Derek thought as he stood up and glared at his brother with his hands on his hips.

"Ok, ok... fine I'll do it." Edwin caved all too quickly. "But you owe me." He said as he turned the knob. He then stopped and turned back around with a grin, "But first, I want you to tell me what was going on between you and Casey on the couch downstairs?"

"Ed, do you actually think I would do something like that with _Casey_ of all people?" He shuddered for effect.

"You've got to admit, she is pretty hot for a step-sister."

"Casey_ isn't_ hot period."

"Yeah, well you sure didn't seem to think so when you were on top of her, inches from her face." Edwin sneered.

"We were fighting that's all. Now get moving before I tell Casey you think she's hot." Derek threatened.

"Whatever, Derek, I see the way you look at her sometimes. You may fool her but you don't fool me." Edwin said as he opened the door and walked out.

Derek closed his door and leaned against it.

_Is it really that obvious that I'm attracted to Casey? _Derek wondered. He thought she was gorgeous the moment he'd laid eyes on her, but he knew he could never be with her, especially since she was now his step-sister. So to keep from hitting on her every chance he got, Derek decided to insult her and be mean to her instead, which he did sometimes feel bad about doing, especially since it made Casey despise him even more.

Sally had taken his mind off of Casey for the longest time while they were dating. He actually truly cared about her... But now that Sally was gone and Casey was done with Truman (that Jerk), Derek couldn't resist the urge to check her out, or kiss her, like he'd almost done downstairs on the couch. It was becoming a temptation that he couldn't fight much longer. He hated having to see her everyday and not being able to tell her how he felt.

_Wait... how _do _I feel? _He thought. _It's definitely not love... It's merely an attraction... maybe a bit of lust... but definitely NOT love. _He shook his head with disgust at even the thought of loving anyone, especially his step-sister.

Derek lay back on his bed and pulled out a magazine to distract his thoughts from Casey. He really didn't want to think about her right now.

* * *

Edwin hurried up the stairs wondering if he should tell his brother what he'd overheard or not but stopped when he saw Lizzie coming out of Casey's room and closing the door.

"Hey, Liz." He called in a stage whisper.

Lizzie turned to look at him and rolled her eyes, "What do you want, Edwin?"

Edwin walked up to her and pulled her away from their sibling's doors, "I think I know what they plan on doing with Casey and Derek."

Lizzie's eyes went wide, "Were you spying on them for Derek?"

"N...no..."

"Yeah right."

"Ok I was, but that's not the point right now."

"So then spill."

Edwin glanced around nervously and then looked Lizzie in the eyes as he placed his hand on her shoulder, "Ok... I heard my dad say something about locking them up somewhere."

"Locking them up where?"

"I'm not too sure but I did see them bringing things up from the basement for some reason..."

"They wouldn't really do that would they?"

"Well the basement does have a lock..."

"Poor Casey." Lizzie said as she turned away from Edwin and started walking towards her sister's room.

"What are you doing?" Edwin asked as he grabbed her arm.

"I have to tell her."

"No! You can't."

Lizzie turned to face him as she pulled her arm from his grip, "But _you're_ going to tell Derek."

Edwin smiled, "Actually I'm not."

"Derek will kill you if you don't."

"I don't even know if that's what they're planning for sure anyways."

"Edwin, I can't keep something like this from Casey. She trusts me."

"So don't tell her you know."

"What are you going to say to Derek?" She crossed her arms.

"Nothing. I'm sick of him thinking he can push me around like a little mouse. I'm through with being his spy."

"That's what you've said before." Lizzie stated as she rolled her eyes at him once again.

"I'm for real this time. I'm practically as tall as Derek now, he can't push me around like he used to. Derek deserves to be locked in a basement."

"But Casey doesn't. She'll die if she has to stay down there with him."

"Well... Casey was the one that broke the lamp..."

"Because Derek tripped her!" Lizzie advanced on him in defence of her older sister.

Edwin held up his hands, "Ok, ok... Look, maybe this will be a good idea for them to be locked up together..."

"What? Are you crazy?"

"I bet you that after they come out of that basement, things won't be the same."

"Yeah, because one of them will be dead... or maybe even both."

"Come on, Liz, you know it can't hurt. I bet you that Casey and Derek will actually treat each other with respect after this."

Lizzie thought for a moment, "Fine, I'll take that bet."

"Loser does the winner's chores for a month." Edwin grinned.

"Deal." She agreed as they shook hands.

Lizzie was feeling slightly guilty for going behind Casey's back like this however.

* * *

"Derek! Casey!" George's voice called from the living room.

Derek and Casey both emerged out of their rooms and glanced at each other before taking the stairs and descending them one at a time.

"Please, sit down." George said as he motioned for them to take their seats on the couch, once they'd landed on the bottom step.

Derek went to sit in his chair but George stopped him and pointed to the couch next to Casey.

"So what's the verdict?" Derek asked as he obeyed and sat next to his step-sister while she tried to move further from him.

"Before you begin, I would just like to sincerely apologize for breaking your lamp, Mom, and for upsetting you, George. I am honestly and truly sorry." Casey said as she looked at them.

"I forgive you, honey, but it still doesn't get you out of punishment." Nora said.

"I know." Casey sighed.

George cleared his throat, "I forgive you too, Casey _and _Derek, but what I am about to say now is serious and I don't want to hear a single word out of the both of you until I am done. Is that clear?"

They both nodded tentatively.

"Good. Now, when I was younger, I used to fight with my brother constantly. My parents got so sick of it that one day they locked us in a room together until we could get along and it actually worked for a while. After spending that time with my brother, we actually got to know each other better and began to respect each other a bit more."

Casey and Derek both went rigid but didn't say anything.

"So, Nora and I have discussed it and we agree that you will both be spending the day together in the basement."

"What?" They both exclaimed.

"I'm not finished." George cut in with a stern look. They both shut their mouths but protested with their eyes. "Like I said earlier, you two have been living under this roof for almost four years now, it's about time you started getting along and acting more mature. You're probably only going to live here for a year or two more until you both decide to go to college or University and start your own lives, so why not spend those last couple of years loving each other, instead of hating one another. Plus, you can get to know each other a little better while down there. You never know, maybe you'll find out that neither of you is as bad as you thought."

"But, Mom, you seriously cannot expect me to be locked up in a basement all day with _Derek_!" Casey said as she stood up.

Nora stood her ground, "I'm sorry, Casey, but you brought this upon yourself, you _and_ Derek. I agree with George one hundred percent. You two need to stop fighting and if this is the only then so be it."

Derek stood up beside her and placed his arm around her shoulder, "What's the matter, Case? You scared?"

Casey glared at him, "You're not actually ok with this are you?"

"Maybe they're right, getting to know each other a little better isn't such a bad idea." He grinned.

Casey shrugged out of his touch and stared at him with a bewildered face. She thought he would hate this idea as much as she. _He's up to something..._ She concluded and then an idea came to her head as she turned back to George and her mother, "Isn't that like child abuse or something? Locking your kids up in the basement..."

"Nope. You will still have your own bathroom down there, windows that open, and you will still be able to come up for meals. Think of it more like being grounded."

"Mom, George, isn't there anything else we could do? Please?" Casey asked. She decided to resort to begging as she pleaded with her blue eyes. She could tell her mother wanted to give in but George placed a hand on her shoulder to keep her strong.

"I'm sorry, Casey, but it's settled." George said with a straight face.

_What has gotten into him?_ Casey wondered. _Since when did George actually get a spine?_

"Derek seems fine with it and I hope you will too." George said as he placed his hand in Nora's and started walking towards the kitchen, "Let's go."

Casey didn't move, she couldn't move. She couldn't believe that they were actually making them do this.

"Come on, Case, just think, a basement all to ourselves." Derek grinned from beside her.

Casey shoved Derek, the anger building up inside of her, "What are you up to?" She scowled.

"Can't a guy want to get to know his step-sister a little better?" Derek said innocently with his arms raised in surrender.

"Derek and Casey!" They heard George call.

"I'm on to you, Venturi." She said as she stared into his eyes with rage.

"On to what, McDonald?" He smiled back as he moved closer to her face.

"Get over here, now!" George yelled.

Casey broke her glare as she groaned and started walking towards the kitchen where the basement awaited them.

_* * *_

_Alone with Casey in the basement for a whole day....What a great punishment! This will hopefully work out to my advantage. _Derek thought as he walked behind Casey, grinning from ear to ear.

* * *

Lizzie looked at Edwin as they sat at the top of the stairs, their presence oblivious to everyone else, "I can't believe they actually did it."

"Yeah, and Casey is not happy."

"So why is Derek?" She looked at him confused.

Edwin only shrugged his shoulders, "Beats me." But if Edwin guessed right, Derek was going to try to hit on Casey while they were down there._ Now will Casey object or give in? _He wasn't sure but if he wanted to win the bet with Lizzie, he hoped the latter. _Besides she's only our _step-_sister, right? So there's really no harm in it..._ He thought as he stood up and headed downstairs to hear the rest of their punishment from the living room.

**So thanks again for the reviews! Please feel free to review some more! Remember, the more reviews, the more sooner I update... And plus it makes me feel good. =D**


	3. Small Space for Case

**I am so impressed and sooo Happy! Thanks for all the reviews!! You guys are making this so much easier for me, and so much fun! I love reading what you guys think of my story. It makes me feel good. =] So here is the next chapter. I love the title. Haha.**

**Chapter 3**

**Small Space for Case**

"Every two hours we will check on you to make sure everything is ok, and that you haven't killed each other yet as well." George said to the two teens as they stood at the basement door. "You can come up for meals but we expect good behaviour while you're up here."

"Uh, Dad..." Derek cut in, "do we at least get to eat breakfast before we go down to the dungeon?"

"And I would like to shower first." Casey added.

"Yeah, I don't want to share a basement with Stinkerella here." Derek said as he pinched his nose and wafted the air in her direction.

Casey just rolled her eyes. _One minute he's about to kiss me and the next he's insulting me... I will never understand him!_

Casey sighed and looked at her mother and step-father, waiting for an answer. Derek did the same thing.

George glanced at Nora and Nora just shrugged.

"Ok, Derek, you can eat, but _quickly_." George said with a tad bit of irritation in his voice.

"Thaaank you." Derek said overdramatically like he had been dying without breakfast and headed over to the pantry for cereal.

"Casey, you can eat as well." George nodded her way.

"I'd rather go shower."

"You need to eat. You're going to be down there for two hours before we let you eat again."

"Then when can I shower?" Casey looked at her mom for support.

"Well..." George thought. "We have a shower downstairs."

"You have got to be kidding me? All of my things are up there already." She complained. "And your door has no lock!"

"Well then don't shower. It's your choice."

Casey couldn't believe the way George was treating them. _Seriously, what happened to him?!_

Casey groaned, "I don't see the big deal with just showering in the bathroom upstairs."

"The big deal is that you and Derek are grounded to the basement, so you can shower in the basement." George snapped.

Casey looked at her mother for support, but yet again her mother took _his _side because he was her _husband._

"Now, you go eat while Lizzie grabs you some clothes from your room." George said.

"Why can't I grab my own things?"

"Because you only have a few minutes to eat."

Casey felt like screaming as she groaned and walked over the pantry to grab some cereal before her _time _was up.

Just then her cell phone started ringing from inside her bag on the counter and she went to answer it, it was probably Emily, but George stopped her.

"And another rule while you are down there: No books, no magazines, and _No_ electronics."

Derek almost spit out his cereal, "Dad, you have got to be kidding me! What are we supposed to do down there without something to keep our minds from going insane?"

"You can learn to get along. That is the whole point of this, Derek."

"And you thought this was a good idea?" Casey whispered to Derek harshly as she handed her bag over to George with a frown.

"Now, look guys, we are only doing this because we care about you," Nora finally spoke. "Don't you want to get along like a brother and sister are supposed to?"

"_He_ is not my brother. Hence the word step." Casey said as she looked down at her food. She wasn't even hungry anymore.

"Yeah, _Marti_ is my sister; Casey is just some _thing_ that happens to live in my house." Derek added.

"Thing?" Casey snapped as she jerked her head to glare at him.

"Well what else do you call someone so annoying...?" Derek smirked.

"How about _Derek_?" Casey shot back.

"Ok, seriously, that is enough!" George shouted. "Both of you get downstairs now!" He said as he pointed to the door.

"I'm not done eating yet." Derek said as he took another spoonful of Reese puffs.

"I don't care if you're not finished. Now get moving!"

Derek and Casey both glanced at each other before standing up and heading for the basement.

"But what about my suff?" Casey asked before taking the stairs.

"Lizzie will get them in a bit."

Casey sighed. _This is all stupid Derek's fault! I hate him!!_

"Remember, we don't want to hear fighting? You got it?" George asked.

They nodded and avoided his eyes.

"Now, just to make sure the rules aren't broken, Nora and I removed all of our electronics, books, and magazines. Oh, and just in case you two do decide to get physical and fight, we removed all of our breakables as well. However, I hope there really was no reason for doing that, was there? You guys aren't going to fight down there, are you?"

They shook their heads.

"Mom, I truly am sorry about the lamp. It was an _accident_." Casey apologized again.

"I know, honey, it's just to be on the safe side..." Nora replied.

"I am really hoping this will work and that some kind of spark will ignite between you two and that you'll finally realize that fighting never solves anything." George said with a smile.

_Oh, I'm hoping that a spark will ignite between us as well... just in a different way. _Derek thought with a malicious grin.

Nora hugged them both and told them she loved them and then Casey watched as the basement door slowly closed, trapping her alone with Derek.

"Are you going to come down?" Derek asked from the bottom of the stairs.

Casey still hadn't moved as she watched the door. A part of her was hoping this was all just a cruel joke and that the door was going to fly open any second with George and Nora laughing.

_I said any second... _

"Hey, earth to Space Case!" Derek shouted.

"_What_ do you want?" Casey snapped as she turned to glare at him.

"Whoa... I just thought you'd feel a little more comfortable down here." He said with raised hands.

"I wouldn't feel comfortable anywhere as long as _you_ were involved."

"Ouch." He replied with his hand over his heart.

"I hate basements!" Casey exclaimed. "This is all just a joke, you'll see, just some stupid prank to get back at us..."

"Trust me, I know my Dad and he was definitely _not_ joking. I haven't seen him that angry in a looong time."

"Maybe he was acting."

"My Dad can't act." Derek said as he looked up at her. "You might as well face it, Case; we're stuck down here until we can figure out a way to "get along"."

Casey turned back to look at the door again and then let out a long and heavy sigh as she took a step down.

"And, come on, the basement's not that bad..."

"It's too cramped!"

"What? Casey can't take the small space?" He made a pouty lip. "Small space for Case." He laughed.

"Shut it." She said as she descended the steps and walked past him.

_Man, is she hot when she's mad. _Derek thought as he watched her from behind.

Casey entered George and her mother's bedroom, the only half decent part of the basement, and sat on the end of the bed. The room was practically bare as she looked around. Their lamps were gone, their little TV, their computers, and her mother's vases of flowers. Casey just rolled her eyes. _The last thing I want to do is get physical with Derek. _She then realized how wrong her sentence sounded and she rephrased it in her head. _Physical as in fighting! But that kind of physical too, now that I think of it! Eew! _She shivered at the thought and then quickly forced her mind on another subject.

_Where is Derek? _She looked around the room and realized that Derek hadn't come in behind her. _Well, who cares anyway? I prefer the room without him in it. It's quiet and I can think... But what do I think about? _Her mind suddenly went back to when Derek was on top of her, inches from her face, and how close their bodies had been... _Was he really about to kiss me? _She wondered again for the hundredth time.

Her thoughts were broken by something hard landing in her lap. Casey jumped and looked down to see a candy bar sitting there. She then looked up to see Derek walking by with a smile as he bit into a similar one.

"Since we didn't get to finish breakfast I thought you might enjoy that." He said as he took a seat in George's desk chair.

"Where did you get these?" Casey asked as she held it up with confusion on her face.

"Don't tell anyone," he took another bite, "but I have a secret stash down here."

"Since when?"

"Since I got a little brother who liked to steal my Halloween candy every year."

"I wonder where he got that from." Casey said with sarcasm.

"Hey, if you're going to be like that, then I guess I'll just take the chocolate back." Derek said as he was about to stand.

"No!" Casey clutched the bar in her hands. "Thank you for sharing with me. That was very kind of you, Derek." She smiled as she peeled open the wrapper and took a bite. She then quickly regretted it as she forced it to go down her throat with disgust.

"This is stale and gross!" She glared at her nemesis.

"Oh, sorry, I guess I grabbed you one from a couple of years ago. My bad." He said as he leaned back and chuckled.

Casey stood up, "And just when I thought you were being nice to me. I thought we were supposed to try getting along?"

"Hey, just be happy I even grabbed you one at all."

"Get me a fresh one." She demanded.

"No." He smirked.

"I'm hungry, Derek."

"And your point is?"

"Get me another one!"

"I said no. It's _my_ secret stash. Find your own food."

Casey glanced at his half eaten chocolate and walked over to him, "Fine, I will. I'll just take this one!" She said as she snatched it from his hands, broke off the piece his mouth had touched, and then bit into the part it hadn't.

"You did not just do that?" Derek said as he stood up to match her level.

Casey took another bite as she eyed him viciously, "Oh, I did." She grinned.

Derek took a step closer to her, "Well then, is it good?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact it is." She said as she took another bite, not taking her eyes off of him.

Derek grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into him, "You know you're going to pay for that?"

Casey was now feeling uncomfortable as she swallowed the piece of chocolate with a gulp and tried to move away, "It's just chocolate, Derek, and besides you said that you have a stash, which means there are more."

"But that was that last one of that kind, which just so happens to be my favourite." He said as he tightened his grip on her arm and stared at her intently.

Casey was no longer enjoying this as she pressed her free hand against his chest and tried to push him away, "Let me go."

He gazed into her eyes and started leaning towards her face like he had done earlier that morning. Casey wanted to scream but she couldn't move. She only stared at his lips moving closer and closer.

_Blam! Blam!_

Derek stopped when they heard knocking at the basement door and Casey let out a sigh of relief when he let go of her.

"Casey, Derek... we have your stuff." Lizzie's voice called.

"Have the rest of your stupid candy bar." Casey snapped as she shoved the last bite into Derek's hand and headed for the stairs.

_The nerve of him! What is going on with Derek? I can't stand this weird behaviour... _Casey thought as she walked out of the room. _If he tries something like that again, I _will_ scream._

Derek walked past her with that same smirk on his face as he turned to her and bit into the last piece of the bar, "Thanks, Case." Was all he said as he ascended the stairs with Casey following behind.

Once Lizzie and Edwin had finished giving them each their clothes, shampoo, towels, and soap, etc, Derek and Casey made their way back down.

"Finally I can shower." Casey said with a smile as she headed for the bathroom.

"Yeah, after me." Derek said from behind her.

Casey stopped and turned to glare, "No way! I have been waiting for this!"

"And you'll just have to wait a little longer." He said as he stepped past her.

Casey didn't know what had come over her but she knew that she wasn't going to let Derek shower before her, so she suddenly shoved him into the wall and ran into the bathroom.

"Ha!" She yelled as she slammed the door.

"Fine, Case, you win," Derek said from outside. "But... just remember, there's no lock..."

**And that's the end of Chapter 3. I hope you liked it and I hope you will review... Please. Oh and I know George is a huge jerk in this story but he's been living with them fighting for a long time now and I thought it was time for him to finally crack, so to speak. So yeah. I will update as soon as I get your wonderful reviews! =] Thanks again!**


	4. Creeper

**Again, the reviews made me so ecstatic that I couldn't wait to update the next chapter!! Thanks so much for reading! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 4**

**Creeper**

Casey scrubbed her body from head-to-toe and felt relieved as she stood under the warm water, letting her form linger in it a bit longer. _Who cares if I waste all the hot water? Derek doesn't deserve it anyway. Plus it's his fault I had to shower down here in the first place._

Casey's thoughts were interrupted when she heard a creak and her breathing stopped momentarily. It sounded like the door opening. _Derek wasn't serious about actually coming in here while I'm showering was he? _Casey wondered. _Why would he? It was probably nothing that I heard... _Casey decided as she shut off the water and began to open the curtain. Casey suddenly shrieked at the sight before her.

"Der-ek!" Casey cried as she quickly closed the curtain with shock.

"What? You never see a guy pee before?" Derek said casually.

Casey was glad she hadn't seen what was in his hands as he stood there. _Eeew! _

"Get out now!" She screamed as her hand gripped the curtain.

"You don't expect me to walk out while I'm still going, do you, Case?"

"You seriously couldn't wait till I was done?" She snapped from behind the shower curtain.

"Hey, when you gotta go, you gotta go. But don't mind me, carry on."

"Yeah, ok, like I'm going to let you see me naked! You pig!"

"Hey, I think it's only fair since you just saw me."

"For your information I didn't see anything, thank goodness!" Casey snapped. "Now get out!"

"Ok, I'm done." He said and she heard him flush the toilet.

Casey sighed, "I don't hear you leaving yet."

"I have to wash my hands." His voice said as she heard the running water in the sink.

"Since when?"

"I'm not that disgusting, Princess."

She heard the water shut off and then the door closed.

Casey peeked out of the curtain very slowly to make sure he hadn't just tricked her and was still standing there with a grin on his face. No Derek. _Phew! _She thought as she opened the rest of the curtain, grabbed her towel, wrapped it around her, and stepped out of the tub.

Casey brushed her wet hair and then went to grab her clothes from the counter when she realized they weren't there. _Ok, I know I brought them in here... _She searched the entire bathroom but couldn't find them anywhere. _Where could they have...? DEREK!_

Casey was fuming as she tightened the towel around her and pulled open the door to see her step-brother standing against the wall opposite her with his arms crossed at his chest.

"Give. Them. Back." Casey seethed through clenched fists.

"I don't know what you're talking about... but you look good in a towel. You should wear one more often." Derek smirked his famous hideous smirk when he knew he had gotten to her.

"I know you took them, Derek!"

"I didn't take anything, Space Case." He stated calmly.

Casey couldn't take it anymore. She was losing her patience with his games and was becoming extremely frustrated. She suddenly grabbed him by the shirt collar and shoved him against the wall.

"I want my clothes now, Derek!" She yelled in his face.

"Whoa, Case, how'd you know I like it rough?" He grinned as he wrapped his hands around her waist.

She shoved him harder, "This is not funny! Give them back!"

"Who said I was being funny?" His hands tightened around her waist with a firm grip.

"What is your problem? I'm your sister for heavens sake! Quit hitting on me!" Casey said with revulsion as she tried to shove him off once again.

"Actually that's _step-_sister." He corrected her.

"It's still wrong and extremely inappropriate!"

"I like inappropriate." He whispered in her ear.

Casey was beginning to feel sick to her stomach and her heart was beating like a million drums. She couldn't shove him off of her. _All that hockey has sure made him strong... What has gotten into Derek today? If hitting on me is another one of his stupid pranks, it's not funny! What do I do? What if he tries to kiss me again...? And what if he actually accomplishes it? Will it feel good? Eeew! Of course it won't! Don't even think about something like that! Earth to Casey! This is Derek you're thinking about! Your stupid, loathsome stepbrother! He disgusts you remember? Even though his hands do feel good on my waist... No! Stop it!_

Derek stared into her eyes and looked at her lips hungrily, so before he could make a move, Casey did the only thing she could think of and kneed him in the groin.

"Aaahhh!!" Derek cried as he let go of her and wretched to the floor in pain. "I can't... believe you... just... did that to me!"

"You deserved it! Now tell me where my clothes are or you'll get another one, even harder this time!" She threatened as she stepped back.

"Do you even know how much... this hurts a guy?" He asked through a pained voice.

"Stay away from me and it won't happen again. Now tell me where they are!"

"Under the... bed." He said as he looked up at her through tears.

Casey smiled as she turned to retrieve her clothes. She did feel a little guilty for hurting him like that but he had it coming. _Wow... I actually made Derek's eyes tear up... Maybe I had been a tad extreme... But he was about to kiss me! Or at least I think he was... Would a kiss really have been that bad...? _She paused._ Of course it would have! It's Derek! _

Casey knelt down and found her clothes just where he said they would be. Lizzie had brought her a blue v-neck t-shirt, white tank top, and blue jeans, not the outfit she had chosen the other night but it would do. _Hmm... Derek told the truth... Why? _Casey wondered as she scooped them up in her arms and stood.

"Thanks for the bathroom!" Derek's voice shouted as she heard the door of the bathroom close.

"I wasn't done in there, Derek!" Casey yelled as she ran towards it.

"I don't care, I'm in here now." His voice replied.

"Not if I come in there and kick you out!"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Case."

"Oh and why not?"

"Because I've already stripped to the buff."

"I don't believe you."

"Fine, open the door, but do remember that once you see _me_, I get to see _you_..."

Casey decided not to take the chance and groaned with annoyance as she went and changed in her mom and George's bedroom instead.

* * *

Derek stood under the cold water for a long time. After seeing Casey in that towel and then holding her so close to his own body, _while_ she was in the towel, made him feel very _heated_. All he wanted was to kiss her, to experience how it felt with her lips against his... _But Casey hates me and wants nothing to do with me. What I see as pleasurable, she sees as disgusting and wrong. I can't stand this. I am going to explode if I don't get that kiss! I _need _it. Just one kiss and I'll be satisfied. Or will I? Will one kiss really satisfy me? Has just ONE kiss EVER satisfied me? _Derek sighed. _Nope. _

_Why does she hate me so much? Oh yeah, because I act like I hate her and try to ruin her life. Well... maybe if I tried being nice to her... But nice is not my thing... _Derek groaned. _I can't believe Casey has me thinking like this! This is ridiculous! Maybe I just need to find another girl, and fast... Then I can forget all about Casey and how hot she is, man is she hot... The way she yells at me, the way her face scrunches up when she's mad, the way she dances, and she's so smart... _He groaned. _Why is this happening to me? I can't be attracted to Casey! I just can't! She's right! This _is_ inappropriate! On so many levels! But I can't help it..._

Derek's thoughts were disrupted by a banging at the door, "Derek? Are you almost done in there? You've been in there for almost an hour." It was Casey of course. Even the sound of her voice made his stomach flutter inside and his lips ache for her touch.

Derek shut off the water.

"Derek? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but thanks to you most of my shower was cold." He answered bitterly as he stepped out of the tub.

"Just hurry up, I still have to do my hair and makeup."

"Like that'll make you look any better." _No, it'll make her look hotter!_

She banged on the door again, making Derek jump, "I am serious! Two hours is almost up and I cannot wait to go upstairs, eat, and not to mention get away from you!"

"Likewise!" He shouted back as he pulled on the clean green t-shirt Edwin had brought down and then the boxers and jeans.

Derek quickly combed his hair and then opened the door. Casey was standing there with a frown.

"Your throne awaits you, Princess." Derek grinned as he gestured towards the bathroom.

Casey scoffed, "What were you doing in there all this time anyway?"

"Why, were you worried about me?" He asked as he leaned against the doorframe with a smile.

She scoffed, "Why would I be worried about you? Now move." She said as she tried to get past him.

"Or what?"

"Just move!" She snapped as she shoved him out the way and walked into the bathroom.

Derek was impressed and that made him want to grab her and kiss even more, but he didn't. _Not yet. Someone will be coming down to get us any minute. I can wait... at least I think I can wait... _He thought as he watched her brush her hair and tie it behind her head. Her exposed neck made him want to place kisses all over it. He shivered with delight at the thought.

Casey noticed him staring and turned to look at him, "What?"

Derek came out of the trance and looked away from her, "Uh... nothing."

"Quit being such a creeper then." She said as she shut the door in his face.

_How do I get you out of my head, Casey McDonald!?! _Derek groaned as he banged his head against the wall.

**I appoloagize to any guys (if there are guys that read this) if Casey kicking Derek made you feel pain as well... I did not intend to hurt you, only Derek...**

**Don't forget to review! =D**


	5. Submerged in Disgusting Toilet Water

**Here is another chapter because you guys rock!! Loved the reviews as usual!! I'm glad you found Derek's pain and Casey's anger amusing. Haha. Again, I love this title. lol. And I hope you enjoy the update!! Oh and like I said at the beginning, I don't own any of the products in this story.**

**Chapter 5**

**Submerged In Disgusting Toilet Water**

"Dad said you have fifteen minutes to eat lunch and get back to the basement." Edwin said as Derek and Casey came up the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Where is Dad?" Derek asked and headed straight for the fridge.

"He and Nora are trying to discipline Marti for ripping off the heads of all her Barbie's."

"Thank you, Smarti." Derek said as he praised the roof above him and grabbed some leftover meatloaf.

"Why's that so great?" Edwin asked.

"Because then Dad isn't here to yell at us. Duh."

"Are you almost done in there? I'm hungry too, you know?" Casey asked from behind him as he kept rummaging though the fridge.

"Hey, you ate more than me, Chocolate thief." Derek grunted and didn't budge.

"At least move over a bit, will you?" Casey asked as she shoved him over.

"You guys seriously better not start fighting. If Dad hears you, you're dead."

"I don't get what George's problem is anyway?" Casey snapped as she grabbed an apple and supplies to make a sandwich with. "Putting us in a basement together has only made things worse."

"Speak for yourself." Derek spoke. He was finally done in the fridge and was now warming up the meatloaf in the microwave.

Casey turned to stare at him in bewilderment, "Excuse me?"

"Things are going great for me." He winked at Edwin.

Edwin grinned, "Really?"

"What are you talking about?" Casey snapped as she turned on Derek.

_Beep, Beep, Beep. _

Derek took the food out of the microwave and began chewing as he spoke, "You know what I mean." He smirked.

Casey shivered with disgust and decided to drop the subject because she knew it would only make things worse. _He just wants to get a rise out of me, that's all. I have to learn to control myself and not let it work me up... I can do this... You can do this Casey... I believe in you... You are strong... You can stay calm... Just ignore him... But what is he referring to? Does Edwin know something that I don't? Does Derek know something that I don't? What are they grinning so wickedly about anyway?_

"Actually I don't know what you mean and I would like to keep it that way." Casey said as she finished making her sandwich, washed her apple and began to eat.

_Mmmm! That is so good. _She smiled through mouthfuls of turkey breast, tomatoes and lettuce. _Way better than stale chocolate._

"Someone's in denial..." Derek prodded.

_Leave me alone!_

Casey ignored him as she continued to eat her delicious sandwich.

"Fifteen minutes is almost up, kids." Edwin said as he looked at his watch.

"Edwin, can't you try to talk some reason into your dad about this? It's absurd to keep us locked in the basement until we get along, which probably will _never_ happen." Casey said as she looked at her younger stepbrother with pleading eyes.

"I'm sorry; Casey, but rules are rules. Plus I'd rather not get on my dad's bad side at the moment. You two have sure gotten him riled up today. It's actually scary seeing him so angry like this."

Casey sighed and stared down at her apple.

"Well, I'm done. I guess we better be heading back down before Da..." Derek was saying but was cut off by George entering the kitchen.

"How are things going downstairs?" George asked right away. "You're getting along, I hope?"

"Of course." Derek answered. "We were just about to go back down so that we could learn so much more about each other, weren't we Case?" Derek looked at her.

Casey avoided George's eyes as she slowly nodded her head. She hated lying but it was the only way to evade another lecture.

"Good." George said as he walked around them and grabbed a couple of water bottles form the fridge. "We're going out to a movie, so you can take some water down with you."

"You're leaving us locked in the basement while you're out having fun?" Casey couldn't believe it.

"We'll be back in a couple of hours to let you up for dinner."

"But what if something happens?"

"Like what?"

"What if the house catches on fire and we're trapped? Or a flood... Or a tornado... Or..."

"Whoa, Spacey, take a chill pill, we'll be fine." Derek interrupted as he put his arm around her shoulder.

Casey pushed him away, "How do you know?"

"Because you have me to protect you." He grinned.

Casey grimaced, "Yeah, sure. You would just leave me to die."

"Well I can't make any promises..."

Casey punched his shoulder and then looked at George, "If anything happens to us it will be your fault."

"Nothing is going to happen to you." George tried to assure her with a smile.

"This still isn't fair." She folded her arms across her chest.

"And do you think it's fair to us that you two can never get along?"

"Hey, we're trying here, Dad." Derek smiled. "Now go have your fun. Casey and I will go back to the basement and make our own fun together."

Casey groaned, "Yeah, tons of fun." She bit sarcastically and stomped towards the basement with her apple.

"I'm rooting for you guys!" Edwin shouted. "I know something good will come out of this. I'm even betting on it."

"That's very supportive of you, Ed." George smiled.

Casey just ignored them as she went downstairs and flopped down on the bed with an over exaggerated sigh of frustration. She let her head fall to the pillow and stared up at the roof.

"You forgot your water."

Casey's view was now blocked by Derek's hideous face as he stood over her. _Well... ok... I guess it's not that hideous... He actually is kind of cute... The way his brown hair curls at the tips and his chocolate eyes gleam when he's happy or amused... But still it's Derek, so it's still hideous and evil to me!_

Derek dropped the bottle of water down beside her, "You'll need it if something happens and the family isn't able to return to unlock the door." He laughed.

_Yep, definitely evil._

"Why thank you so much, Derek, for thinking of me." She said bitterly as she rolled onto her stomach so that she wouldn't have to look at him anymore.

Derek couldn't help but stare at her once again. _Man, she is hot. _As she turned over on the bed, a bit of her shirt had come up and her lower back was peeking out. _Oh, what I would give just to touch her skin... To kiss it... To feel it on my own... _Derek's arm began to move towards her. _Just one little touch... _He was about to place his hand on her skin when she suddenly turned over again and looked into his eyes.

"What are you doing?" She asked with a puzzled look.

"I... uh..." _Great, Derek, nice going! Now what do you tell her?_

Before Derek could explain himself Casey gasped as she pulled something out from underneath her mother's pillow.

"Look what I found!" She grinned as she held up a magazine.

"So what?"

"It's entertainment! I finally have something else to do instead of fight with you! Mom must have forgotten to take it upstairs with everything else." She beamed.

_She's so adorable when she smiles. _Derek thought. _Gross! What did I just say? 'She's adorable when she smiles'? What am I? A sap?_

"Yeah, like fashion is so much more entertaining than Me." Derek scoffed.

Casey ignored him as she quickly started flipping the pages and reading.

"You know, you're breaking the rules." He chided with a smirk.

Casey only sighed, "Not if they left it here."

"Even so. My Dad said, and I quote, 'No books and _No magazines.'.'"_

"What is the big deal?" She looked at him.

"Since when does Casey Mc-goody-two-shoes break the rules?"

"Since the rules were stupid and didn't count in this case."

"Well then I'm just going to have to tell Dad..."

"You wouldn't?" Casey glared at him.

"No... I wouldn't... but I _will_ do this!" He suddenly snatched the magazine from her hands and bolted for the bathroom.

"DER-EK!" Casey screamed as she chased after him.

Derek stood in front of the toilet and held the magazine over the open lid with a threatening grin on his face.

Casey gasped when she saw him, "Derek that is my mom's magazine!"

"Like she'll miss it. She forgot all about it while it was tucked under her pillow."

"Give it back!"

Derek shook his head and lowered the magazine a bit more.

"You're just jealous because I have something to do and you don't!"

"No, actually I just love making you miserable." He lowered it more.

Her face hardened, "You don't have the guts."

Derek only smiled wider as he slowly let the book fall out of his hands and land in the toilet water.

Casey's face fell as she stood there in shock.

"Trust me; I have more guts than you think." Derek said as he walked past her.

Casey wanted to hit him, strangle him, to do something to him so that Derek would pay for what he did... but instead she let him walk right by with that stupid grin on his face. She didn't think he would actually do it... _Why did he do it? How could he do it? That Jerk! _Casey walked over and stared down at her mother's fashion magazine now submerged in disgusting toilet water. _That's it! I cannot take this anymore! Derek Venturi will pay for this! I am going to get him back so bad that he'll wish he never messed with me! _

**And there you have it. Another update. I hope it satisfied you for now... and sorry it was kind of short. Oh and also, just so that some of you, or all, don't start hyperventilating about lack of a kiss between two certain stepsiblings... It is coming up very soon... So don't worry and stay calm. And please don't forget to review! =D **


	6. Chocolate Hands

**Thanks for the Reviews! Love you guys and I'm so glad you love the story, which I've probably already mentioned, but I am! Here is the next chapter! **

**Chapter 6**

**Chocolate Hands**

Casey walked briskly towards her stepbrother, who was now lying on the bed, and grinned.

Derek noticed her enter the room and smiled up at her, "Done fishing for fashion?"

"Yep." She said as she sat on the desk chair across from him.

"Then why are you so happy?" He sat up to stare at her.

"Is it a crime to be happy?"

"Well, I did just drop your precious entertainment in the toilet..."

"Oh, I'm past that now. I forgive you." She continued to smile.

He eyed her suspiciously, "Then how come I don't believe you?"

"I don't know." She shrugged.

He moved to sit at the end of the bed, "What were you doing all this time? It's been almost a half an hour since I saw you last."

"Stuff."

"What kind of stuff?" He was becoming irritated as his hands gripped the bedding.

"Just stuff."

Derek stood, "What did you do, Casey?"

Casey twirled in the chair and grinned at him, "Well... let's just say that I found your not-so-secret stash of chocolates."

Derek's jaw dropped and he bolted out of the room instantly.

"Good luck eating them now!" Casey called after him.

* * *

Derek searched the spot he had hidden his Halloween candy over the years, which was tucked safely in a corner under the stairs, and let out a sigh of relief when the box was still there. He chuckled to himself. _I knew she was lying. Casey wouldn't dare touch my stash... Would she? _Derek stuck his hand inside the box just in case and was greeted by warm goo. He gasped and pulled his hand out to find melted chocolate coating his fingers.

_Casey! How could she? _He frantically pulled back the lid all the way and found all of his chocolate melted in a giant puddle.

"Noooooo!!" Derek cried.

* * *

Casey smiled to herself when she heard her Derek's cry of agony carry out through the basement. _Serves him right! _Casey laughed.

"How could you?" Derek asked as he entered the room with a scowl on his face and his hands behind his back.

"It's called a blow dryer, Derek, and that'll teach you to mess with a McDonald."

"But how did you find it?" He took a step towards her.

"It wasn't that hard. It was the only box that said '**D-Vent's**. **Do Not Touch**' in bold letters."

"I knew I should have switched boxes from when I was ten." Derek muttered under his breath.

"Now we're even." Casey said as she stood up, the smile still on her face. "So no more pranks while we're down here, got it?"

Derek grinned, "Fine. Let's shake on it."

Casey shrugged and put out her hand. _He's actually agreeing with me?_ She was shocked.

Derek placed his hand in hers and Casey immediately regretted the shaking hands thing as she looked down and saw that his hand was covered in melted chocolate, thanks to her.

"Der-ek!" She shrieked as she pulled her hand away.

Derek laughed with that evil look on his face, "_Now_ we're even!"

Casey stared at her chocolate covered hand and then at Derek as she slowly brought her hand up and wiped it all over his green t-shirt.

"No, now we're even." She smirked.

Derek looked at his shirt now covered in the brown goo and before Casey could react, Derek wiped his chocolate covered hand all over her right cheek.

"I think the foundation's a little too dark, Case, don't you think?" He grinned.

Casey wiped her cheek with her other hand and glared at him, "It's not funny anymore, Derek."

"It's funny to me."

"We better stop before things get too carried away and our parents come back to find us both covered in chocolate."

"Well that's what you get for melting all my candy."

"You dropped my mother's magazine in the toilet!"

"That still gave you no right to ruin my stash."

"You had chocolate in there that was over eight-years old! Most of it was already ruined!"

Derek just raised his chocolate hands, "Look, Casey, I am sorry for ruining the magazine like that, ok?"

Casey was caught off guard by the sudden apology made by Derek and just stared at him with wide eyes, "What?"

"I'm sorry."

_What is he doing? Derek NEVER apologizes! I am actually scared right now... Does he really mean it...? Or does he have something else up his conniving sleeve?_

"I don't believe you." She shook her head.

"I don't blame you, but I honestly am telling the truth."

His eyes were so sincere looking right now that a part of her actually did believe him. _But it's Derek... He never tells the truth..._

"So... Don't I get an apology back?"

"Do you really deserve one?" She was about to place her hands on her hips but then remembered that they were still covered in goo and kept them at her sides.

"Well... you did wipe chocolate all over my only shirt down here..." He said as he gestured towards the dirty shirt with her hand print smudged all over it.

Casey sighed, "Fine, I am sorry about your shirt. You happy?"

"Yep." He smiled. "Now why don't you go wash up before the chocolate begins to dry on your face?"

"Ok..." Casey hesitated as she began to walk towards the bathroom.

_Why is Derek acting to so nice all of a sudden? Just a few minutes ago he had been wiping chocolate all over me and now he's apologized and worried that it will dry on my face! What the heck?! _

_* * *_

_Tell me why I'm being so nice to Casey again? _Derek asked himself as he watched her leave the room. _You want to eventually get on her good side, don't you? _Derek thought about that. _I guess... but isn't there another way? No. _He sighed heavily. _Fine._

Derek quickly removed his shirt from his body and thought about taking one from his dad's drawer but then a better idea came to mind. _I wonder what Casey will say if I have no shirt on? I have to admit that hockey did well for my chest and it's not that bad... so maybe she'll think so too...?_

* * *

As Casey scrubbed her hands and face with warm water and soap, Derek appeared from behind her and Casey noticed his bare chest immediately.

"Mind if I wash up too?" He said with a smile as he stuck his hands under the water along with hers.

Casey couldn't help but stare at him. She had to admit that Derek was very well built and muscular. Of course she had seen him without his shirt before but this time it was different... He looked... well... hot. _Wait! What am I thinking? Derek and hot do not belong in the same sentence EVER, especially when it concerns me!_

Derek leaned over her to grab the soap, his skin touching her arm in the process and Casey couldn't help but turn a shade of pink. She quickly turned from him and took a step back so that they weren't in contact anymore.

_What is going on with me? I can't stand Derek. He's annoying, malicious, evil, conniving, disgusting, and did I mention annoying? He is definitely NOT attractive whatsoever! _Casey's eyes drifted to his abs. They were hard and slender, practically a six-pack. _Stop looking at him then! _She chided herself and darted her eyes elsewhere.

"Something wrong?" Derek asked as he dried his hands on a towel and looked at her.

Casey shook her head, "Nope, nothing's wrong. I... I'm just going to go back to the room now." She said as she spun around and hurried to get away from him.

"I'll join you then." Derek said from behind and she heard his footsteps in unison with hers.

Casey sighed under her breath and tried not to look at him as they entered the bedroom and she sat on the end of the bed. Derek sat across from her on the chair and smiled.

_Why is he so happy all of a sudden? And why does he keep staring at me like that? It's giving me the creeps. _She thought as she shuddered. Her eyes scanned his bare skin once again. _No wonder girls find him so attractive, his body is perfect. Not that I'm shallow or anything but who doesn't love a nice looking chest on a guy? Wait... this isn't just some random hot guy you're gushing over, Casey, it's your brother, remember? Well, _step_-brother... but still! You cannot be checking him out! It's wrong!_

"Are you going to put on another shirt?" Casey blurted out as she stared at the wall.

Derek smirked, "Why? I like not wearing one sometimes. It's cozy."

"Because... you could... catch a cold..."

"Uh, Case, its summer and this basement is pretty warm. I don't think I have to worry."

"But wouldn't you feel more comfortable in one?" She pressed the subject on as she tried to look anywhere but at his chest.

Derek grinned and leaned forward on the chair, "Don't you mean, _you _would feel more comfortable if I put one on?"

She avoided his eyes, "No!"

"Then why won't you look at me? Is it because you like what you see but you won't admit it?"

"You disgust me."

"Look at me, Casey." His voice taunted.

Casey kept her eyes on the floor. _He knows I am attracted to his body... That's not good! Just keep it cool. Casey, stay calm and serene. You can do this. It's only Derek..._

She watched Derek's feet as they stood up and started walking over to her.

_Go away! Don't come near me with those abs and that oooh so muscular chest... _

"If you don't like my body then just look at me, Casey." Derek said as he stood over her.

Casey sighed and slowly lifted her gaze to meet his, "There, I'm looking at you. Happy?"

Derek suddenly leaned forward as he placed both of his hands on the bed resting on either side of her. His face was so close to hers that their noses were touching.

"You're attracted to me, just admit it." He whispered with his lips inches from hers.

Casey could feel her face turning pink as she stared into his daring brown eyes, "Derek..."

"Tell me..." His eyes pleaded desperately.

_I am not attracted to him! I can't be! I am NOT attracted to Derek. I can't stand him, just as much as he can't stand me! But then why is he looking at me like that? _Her eyes were glued to his. They were almost mesmerizing and she couldn't look away. _I am not attracted to Derek... I am not attracted to Derek... I am not attracted to Derek... _

Casey began to speak, "I am not..." but before Casey could finish her sentence, Derek Venturi's lips had crashed against hers and all other thoughts vanished from her mind as her lips began kissing him back.

**Please don't kill me for leaving you with such a big cliff hanger... At least you got a bit of what you've been waiting for... So please lower the weapons... Please... **

**Tomorrow's my birthday, so lots of awesome reviews will make my day even better! Yay for tomorrow and for more reviews! =]**


	7. A Huge Mistake

**Thanks so much for the Birthday wishes! I had a Great one and your reviews made it even better!! I actually turned 19... to the person who thought it was 20... I just put 19 on my page already because I was going to be it in a couple of days anyway. Haha. I am so glad you guys enjoyed the last chapter... I know you'll like this one for sure... at least the beginning anyway... Oh and this has nothing to do with the story or the show... but I just wanted to let you know that the movie "Knowing" is totally not worth seeing, unless you like stupid endings... Ok, so here's the next chapter. I know you're dying to read it. Have fun. =] **

**Chapter 7**

**A Huge Mistake**

Derek deepened the kiss between them as his hands moved up her body and cupped her face. Casey moaned against his lips and she could feel him smiling as he kissed her harder. He began to push her back against the bed, their lips only parting for gasps of breath. His body was now slightly on top of hers and Casey couldn't help but feel his chest as she wrapped her arms around him. His lips parted, begging for more of her mouth. Casey hesitated for a second until she could feel his tongue on hers. _He doesn't taste that bad. _She had to admit. She could feel his hands begin to roam her form as they snaked up and down her back. He pressed harder against her so that there was hardly any space between them. When his hands began to lift her shirt, Casey flinched at the touch of his fingers on her bare skin. They were moving up her back slowly as they continued to kiss and a red light suddenly flashed on in her mind. _What are you doing?! You're making out with your stepbrother! This is so wrong!_ She scolded herself. His mouth moved away from hers as he began to kiss her jaw then her neck. She groaned. _Then why does it feel so right? _He pressed even harder against her body, closing any gap that remained between them, grinding his hips into hers and kissed her even deeper on the lips. _No, no, no! I can't do this! He is going way too fast! I am not ready for this! Especially with him! _Her mind screamed as she tried to push him away. Derek didn't get the hint however and continued to kiss her with even more passion. She had to admit that this was the best kissing experience she had ever had and it scared her. _We have to stop! Even if he does kiss amazingly..._

"Derek..." She spoke against his lips as she shoved her hands against his chest.

"Mmm." He moaned as he began to kiss her neck again.

"Derek, please... you need to stop." Her voice squeaked as she tried not to think of the jolt of pleasure his lips sent through her body with every touch.

He looked into her eyes for the first time since they had been kissing and there was something in them... It wasn't just lust... It was more... Passion... and desire... _But this is Derek we're talking about here! He hates me like I hate him... Do you really hate him, Casey?_

"What's the matter?" His voice finally asked.

"This is wrong."

"You didn't seem to think so a minute ago..." He smirked his adorable smirk.

_Wait... adorable smirk? What happened to hideous smirk...?_

"I can't do this, Derek, _WE _can't do this."

His face fell and there was sadness in his eyes, "Why not?"

_Why not? Why not? I will tell you Why Not! For one: You are my step-brother, I am your step-sister, which means that our parents are married! Two: I am not ready for this! You are going way too fast! And Three... well... three is... It's just wrong!_

"You know why." She whispered as she looked away from his brown eyes.

"It's not like we're blood related or anything... This kind of thing happens all the time, Case..."

"It's not just that..." She said as she pushed him off of her. She couldn't stand to feel his body on top of hers anymore. They both sat up beside each other on the end of the bed and Casey stared at the floor.

"What is it then?" He asked.

"I've never..." she began but didn't know how to say it to him. "I... I'm saving myself, Derek." She breathed out a long breath.

"Saving yourself for what?"

"Marriage."

"What?"

She looked at him and his eyes were wide.

"I don't want to be... intimate... with someone until I am married."

"Why?" He was looking at her like she was retarded or something.

"Because I promised myself that I would, ok! I am not like you where you jump any girl you deem worthy of hotness!"

She glared at him and realized she had hurt him as he dropped his head and turned from her.

"Wow, Casey... You think you really know me..." He said sarcastically.

"You can't tell me that you have never done it before!"

"To be honest... I haven't..."

"What?" Now it was her turn for wide eyes.

"I've had plenty of chances but I could never do it..."

"But the way you talk about it all the time..."

"I lied."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why would you pass up the opportunity to do it if you've had the chance? I don't get it..."

"I don't know... I guess... I kind of envisioned myself doing it with someone I really care about and not just some dumb bimbo..."

Casey was completely shocked with how honest Derek was being and then suddenly it dawned on her. _He had been trying to do it with me... Does Derek...? No... That's crazy... But then why...? Is Derek in love with me? _

"What's wrong?" Derek asked. He had obviously seen the shocked expression on Casey's face as she stared off in space. "Casey?"

She looked at him and her eyes were serious, "This was a mistake. It was all just a huge mistake."

"What was?"

"You... and me..."

"Are you telling me that you only kissed me accidentally? That you were _accidentally_ feeling up my chest and moaning against my mouth...?"

Casey nodded, "I was caught up in the moment, I wasn't thinking straight..."

Derek leaned towards her face, "So you felt nothing between us just now?"

"No." She lied.

His lips then pressed against hers again and Casey's whole body tingled at the touch and then he pulled away and stared into her eyes, "So that means nothing to you?"

Casey hesitated before slowly shaking her head, "I'm sorry, Derek."

Derek's face suddenly changed as his eyes grew darker and he looked straight ahead, "There's nothing to apologize about. I feel the same way."

"You do?" She didn't believe him.

He looked directly at her, "You're right; it was all just a huge mistake. I didn't feel a thing either."

He looked so serious that Casey actually believed him and a part of her was actually hurting inside from his words. _Why does that upset you? You should feel relieved... _

Casey was about to say something else when they heard George's voice suddenly shout down to them, "We're home and we brought dinner! You guys can come up now."

Casey and Derek both sighed as they looked away from each other and stood up from the bed at the same time.

"You better grab a shirt... We want them to think we've been getting along and not having chocolate fights..." Casey suggested as she took one last glance at Derek's chest.

* * *

"I thought we _had_ been getting along." Derek mumbled as he headed over to his father's dresser to grab a clean shirt until he could change into his own.

As he opened the drawer, Derek watched Casey stand up and adjust her hair and clothing. He could still feel her on his lips. She tasted like vanilla. It sent shivers of pleasure down his spine as he thought about that kiss. He had lied of course, and not only to Casey but to himself. After kissing her the way he had, Derek realized that he did have _feelings _for Casey but when she'd said she felt nothing in return, it felt like she had kicked him again. Hard.

_The way she had kissed me back... I was sure she felt the same... Maybe she's afraid...? This is really sudden and I guess a little awkward considering our parents are married to each other... _Derek groaned. _You Idiot! Why did you have to go fall for Casey of all people?! WHY?_

"You better hurry; we don't want them getting suspicious." Casey said from behind him.

"Suspicious of what?" Derek snapped as he yanked out a red t-shirt and slammed the drawer.

"Are you mad at me?" Casey asked as she took a step towards him, and then stepped back.

"No." Derek replied as he pulled the shirt over his head, avoiding her eyes.

"All right then... But remember... if we don't want to be stuck in this basement any longer we have to act like everything is fine between us. Got it?"

"Sure, whatever." He said as he walked past her.

* * *

Casey sighed as she watched Derek leave the room and ascend the flight of stairs. _I'm doing the right thing... I was just caught up in the moment... He is a great kisser after all... _Her mind went back to how his lips felt on hers and how smooth his chest was beneath her hands. _Snap out of it, Casey! It was a mistake! It was all just a huge mistake and it will never ever happen again! _Casey told herself as she shook her head and made her way to the stairs. _Now all we have to do is play it cool and everything will be fine... But will I be fine...?_

**I know it was pretty short but that's the way it had to be. I hope it wasn't too bad... You at least got more of the kiss... So review and let me know what you thought! Like I alwas say, and I mean it, I love reading your reviews!! =D Thanks again for the b-day wishes!!**


	8. NutCase

**Thanks again so much for the reviews and just for reading my story! Oh and also for the birthday wishes as well! Thank you!! You guys make me feel so good! So here is another chapter... you know you guys are very lucky that I update so quickly because man, I'm starting to get ahead of myself... I've hardly written chapter 10 yet and I'm already posting 8... I better get writing... It's because I love you all so much! You guys serioulsy rock my socks! I hope you like this chapter, you get to see a bit of a crazed Casey that is arguing with herself. I found it quite amusing... Haha. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 8**

**Nut-Case**

"So how are things going downstairs?" George asked as the two families-in-one sat around the dining room table eating Chinese take-out.

"Is everything all right? You two have been strangely quiet." Nora added with concern.

Casey glanced up at Derek, hoping he would say something. He was the better liar after all.

"Things are fine." Derek shrugged as he looked away from Casey and shoved a fork full of noodles into his mouth.

"What have you two been doing down there while you were _alone_?" Edwin asked with hidden meaning in his voice.

_Does Edwin know?! Did Derek tell him?! _Casey panicked as she stared at her plate. _No, wait... He couldn't have... Derek's been in my sight all this time. But wait! He did go upstairs to change out of George's shirt... Oh, but Edwin was down here setting the table with Lizzie... _Casey eyed her younger stepbrother suspiciously. _Then why is he looking at us like that and being all weird...? He's up to something, I can feel it._

"We've been doing what Dad told us to do, _Ed_. Casey and I have been getting along and not fighting." Derek spoke as he shot Edwin a nasty look. He then looked at her, "Could you please pass the lemon chicken, Casey?" He asked with a sweet voice.

Casey caught on, "Oh... yeah, sure, Derek. Of course." She forced a smile as she picked up the small box and handed it to him. Their fingers touched for a brief moment and Casey could feel butterflies fluttering in her stomach. She quickly removed her hand and went back to staring at her food.

Edwin pressed on with a smile as he watched their behaviour, "Getting along _how _exactly?"

"Did Smerek and Casey kiss and make up?" Marti suddenly asked.

Casey had just taken a sip of water and immediately spit it out as Derek began choking on his dinner. Everyone was staring at them with puzzled expressions, everyone except Edwin who sat back and grinned.

"W... what makes you think that D... Derek and I, uh... k... kissed?" Casey stuttered with a red face.

"Um... I think what Marti meant to ask was if you two are friends now... Right, Smarti?" Nora rephrased with an awkward smile.

Marti nodded, "Of course. Why would Derek and Casey kiss? That's gross." She said as she scrunched up her face and continued to eat.

_It wasn't that gross..._

"R... right..." Casey chuckled nervously, "Why would we do that?"

_Why _did_ we do that?_

"Um... May I be excused?" Casey asked.

"But you've hardly touched your dinner." Nora noted as she pointed to Casey's plate.

"I'm not feeling too good."

"Wait, first I would like to speak with you two." George said as he addressed the eldest teens.

They both looked at him.

_Please don't lock me in the basement with him again... please... I don't want to be alone with Derek... I can't be._

George cleared his throat, "I have decided to end your punishment today. You don't have to go back to the basement."

Casey and Derek both let out sighs of relief.

"I can see that you two have finally chosen to act mature and treat each other with more respect, which is great." He smiled.

"Yep, we've definitely learned our lesson, right Case?" Derek looked at her.

"Yes. We are sorry for our behaviour towards each other all these years." Casey answered. "Derek actually isn't that bad of a guy after all." Casey added before thinking.

Derek's eyes stared into hers with question and surprise.

"And Casey's not that bad either." He added with a smile.

"I am very glad to hear that." Nora said on the verge of tears. "George's basement plan worked after all and brought the two of you closer than I thought."

_Even closer, Mom..._

"May I go now?" Casey asked, avoiding Derek's brown eyes that were still gazing at her.

"Yes, Sweetie, you may go." Nora nodded. "I hope you feel better."

"Me too." She mumbled as she headed up the stairs.

Once Casey was inside her room, she closed the door and plopped down on her bed.

_How could this happen? How could you let this happen, Casey? You kissed Derek... well actually made out him... but you still kissed your stepbrother! I feel so dirty. _She thought as a tear fell from her eye. _If anyone ever found out about this I would be ruined. My mom and George would be so devastated that they'd be forced to split up, my friends would think I'm incestuous, and my little sister would disown me. _Casey groaned. _Lizzie... what kind of example am I setting for her? If Lizzie ever kissed Edwin (which better Not Ever happen!), I don't know what I would do... Would I disown her too? Well... maybe disown is a little harsh... but I would be very, very, very disappointed with her._

_This is all my fault! Well, technically this is all Derek's fault since he was the one who had been hitting on me all day, and he was the one that had initiated the kiss in the first place! But you kissed him back... Ugh! Why did I do that? Why did I have to kiss him back? Because deep down you've always wondered what it would feel like to have his lips on yours. No I haven't! _Casey argued with her thoughts. _That is absurd! You liked it, Casey, and you like Derek. No I don't! Stop putting these lies in my head! They're not lies, they're your feelings and you've had them since the first time you met Derek. Just admit it. NO! I do NOT like Derek! I am not attracted to him and I did NOT enjoy that kiss! It was a mistake! You're lying... No I'm not! Liar, liar pants on fire... My pants are not on fire and I am not lying! You like Derek but you're too afraid to admit it because you know it's wrong. Exactly! It's wrong! I can't like Derek! If I ever admitted that I had any feeling towards him (which I don't) then people would come after me with pitchforks because we're related! Not by blood... Like Derek said: this kind of thing happens all the time... Don't be quoting Derek to me! Even if it does 'supposedly' happen all the time, it will not be happening here! End of discussion! You like Derek._

"I do not like him!" Casey shouted.

"You don't like who?"

Casey spun around on her bed to see Lizzie standing in the doorway with a confused expression on her face.

_Of course you had to say that out loud... _Casey rolled her eyes at herself. _What is wrong with me? I have actually been arguing with myself... Maybe I really am a nut-Case, pun intended._

"Casey?" Lizzie took a step towards her. "Are you okay?"

"Since when don't you knock before entering my room?" Casey asked as she looked at her sister.

"I did knock... but you weren't answering, so I let myself in. Is everything all right?"

"I... I'm just a little woozy." _Woozy? Did you just say woozy? It's such a weird word._

"So... who do you not like that you were screaming about?" Lizzie asked as she sat on the end of Casey's bed.

"I wasn't screaming."

"You were screaming."

Casey sighed, "It was no one."

Lizzie raised an eyebrow, "Really? Then why are you blushing if it's no one?"

"I'm not blushing!" Casey raised a hand to her cheek. "It's because I'm not feeling good."

"Fine, if you want to be in denial, suit yourself."

"I am not blushing and I am not in denial!" Casey snapped.

Lizzie's eyes dropped at Casey's outburst. She stood up and backed towards the door, "Sorry, Case, I guess I'll just leave you alone then."

Casey realized her mistake and quickly stood up, "No, Liz, I'm the one that's sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that." She pulled her sister into a warm embrace. "Forgive me?"

"Don't I always?" Lizzie smiled as she hugged her back.

"Now," Casey said as she pulled back to stare at her little sister, "was there any specific reason that you had to come into my room?"

"Well..." Lizzie stepped back and looked at the floor, "I was just wondering if... it was true?"

"If what was true?"

"If you and Derek really had gotten along downstairs and now see each other in a whole new light?"

Even the mention of his name gave her goose bumps as Casey hesitated before answering, "Yes."

Lizzie's face fell, "Oh."

"Well isn't that good news? You have all been waiting for us to get along and now we are..."

"Yeah, no, it's great... but..."

"But what?"

"Never mind, I should go." Lizzie turned to leave but Casey grabbed her by the shoulder and turned her around.

"Not until you tell me what the problem is?"

Lizzie sighed, "Ok... but promise me you won't get mad?"

"I won't get mad."

Lizzie hesitated, "Ok... I kind of knew that George was planning on locking you in the basement with Derek and then Edwin made this bet with me that you two would be getting along when the punishment was over but I didn't think you would... But you did, so now I have to do Edwin's chores for a month." Lizzie said all in one breath as she gasped for air when she was done.

Casey's jaw dropped, "What? How could you?"

"I'm really sorry, Casey. I felt really bad..."

"So you bet that we _wouldn't _get along? Thanks for having faith in me, sis." She scoffed as she crossed her arms.

"It's not that I didn't' have faith in _you_, I didn't have faith in _Derek_... but that doesn't matter now anyways because Edwin won and now I'm stuck doing his stinking chores." Lizzie huffed.

"I'm sorry, Liz, but if I ever wanted to get out of that basement I knew I would have to get along with Derek. I had no choice. We had to do it."

"So wait... You only did it because you _had_ to?"

"Huh?"

"You and Derek were only pretending to get along again, weren't you? Just so you could get out of the basement. I knew the two of you couldn't get along!" Lizzie beamed.

"What...? No..."

"Ha! In your face Edwin! Now I don't' have to do his chores! Thanks Case!" Lizzie exclaimed as she ran out of Casey's room before Casey had a chance to stop her.

Casey groaned as she hit her head against the doorframe. _Stupid, stupid, Casey! You just had to open your stupid, stupid mouth! What if Mom and George find out we were lying... Would Lizzie really tell them? Edwin might... But we weren't exactly lying... You wouldn't be able to tell them the truth though! _She sighed.

"What's wrong with you?" A voice that Casey really did not want to hear right now asked from the stairs.

* * *

Derek had gone up stairs hoping that Casey was still in her room so that he could quickly slip into his own room unnoticed, but of course fate hated him and enjoyed seeing him suffer. Casey was not in her room and instead she was standing in her doorframe looking very depressed and angry. He couldn't help but question her actions as she banged her head against the border.

_Maybe she can't stop thinking about the kiss either and it's driving her crazy...?_

He looked at Casey, waiting for her to answer his question but all she did was stare down at her feet.

"So... we pulled it off... My dad ended the punishment..." He decided to change the subject as he ran his hands through his shaggy brown hair nervously.

_Since when am I nervous in front of Casey?_

"Yeah." She nodded.

Derek took a step towards her, "Casey... I think we should talk..." He couldn't believe what he was saying. Derek Venturi never wants to _talk, _especially when it comes to _feelings _and all that crap. _But I can't stand this silence between us either..._

"We did talk," she spoke as she took a step back from him, "and we both agreed that..." she glanced around nervously and lowered her voice, "that what happened between us was an accident, a mistake."

"And that's what I want to talk about." Derek said as he took another step towards her.

Casey stepped back again, "No, Derek... There is nothing else to discuss. Let's just go back to our old ways and forget this ever happened." She whispered harshly.

"We can't go back to our old ways, remember? Unless you want to get locked in the basement again..."

Casey sighed, "Well then... you just leave me alone and I'll do the same in return."

Derek closed the last couple of steps between them so that Casey was now flattened against the wall, "And what if I _don't_ leave you alone? What if I _don't_ want to forget what happened between us?" He asked as he stared into her blue eyes.

She looked up at him with a grim face, "I don't think that should be a problem since you admitted that you felt nothing anyway."

He smiled as he placed his hands on her hips and whispered in her ear, "I lied."

Casey's eyes were unblinking for a moment and then she finally looked at him with a cold expression, "Well I didn't."

"Are you sure about that?" He asked as he pulled her against his body with a firm grip, craving for her lips once again.

Casey's cheeks turned pink as she avoided his eyes and stared down at his lips .

"You want me just as bad as I want you." He whispered, inches from her mouth.

"No!" Casey suddenly shouted and pushed him off. "We can't do this!" She then ran into her bedroom and slammed the door before Derek could even open his mouth. He then heard the lock slide into place and knew that she was trying to lock him out of her life.

_I think I love you Casey McDonald... and I wish you felt the same about me..._

**Ok, well I better continue writing the other chapters so that I can keep updating on time to keep my reviewers even more happy with me. Don't forget to review this chapter... =]**


	9. A Crazy Horrible Dream

**Thanks for the reviews!! You better be happy because I was actually going to wait a couple of days to review since I just finished Chapter 10 and have barely written chapter 11... but I just couldn't do that to you guys. I'm too nice. =] So here is the next chapter. And more of a crazy Casey. Dum, dum, dum...**

**Chapter 9**

**A Crazy Horrible Dream**

"Whatever, Lizzie, you're just trying to get out of doing my chores." Edwin said as he crossed his arms and leaned against the closet door.

His stepsister had grabbed him in the hall, while he was on his way to Derek's room to pry some information out him, and shoved him into the games closet for another one of their meetings that they've been having in there since they first became stepsiblings. He wasn't sure why they chose to talk in there instead of a bedroom or something, especially since they were both getting older and a lot bigger, which made the closet a lot smaller.

He was a little annoyed because she had pulled him in there only to tell him that he was wrong and that she had won the bet instead of him, which he knew was a lie because according to his observations of Derek and Casey at the dinner table, something had happened between them and they _did_ see each other in a whole new light, just like he'd told Lizzie they had. Of course he hadn't told Lizzie the whole story of what he presumed had happened; he wasn't sure how she would take it.

"Casey told me herself," Lizzie stated as she crossed her own arms across her chest. "She said that it was the only way that they could get out of the basement and that they _had _to 'get along'." She air quoted with her fingers.

"Casey only said that because she is obviously hiding something."

"Hiding what?"

"I can't say."

"Why not?"

"Because it's my own secret observation... and... they would kill me."

"Who would kill you?"

"I told you, I can't tell you."

Lizzie suddenly grabbed Edwin by the shirt collar and shoved him hard against the door, "Edwin! I want to know now! Especially since it concerns my sister!"

He had to admit that Lizzie had always been stronger and more forceful when it came to getting what she wanted. It was the jock in her, and not to mention the tae-kwon-do training she had. Edwin knew that there was no way of getting out of her death grip without telling her the truth.

"All right, all right..." he held up his hands in surrender, "I'll tell you. But you have to promise not to freak, and you can NOT say a word of this to anyone. Got it?"

She loosened her grip a bit, "That depends on what it is..."

"Then I can't tell you."

She shoved him again and growled, "Edwin...!"

"Do you promise?"

Lizzie sighed heavily and let him go, "Fine, just tell me already."

Edwin smiled, "Ok... here it is..."

* * *

Casey couldn't help but let the tears fall as she hugged her pillow to her chest, trying to forget about everything that had happened during the day. She was so angry with herself for reacting the way she had when Derek tried to tell her how he felt. _I had no choice though... No matter how much I wanted to kiss him... I couldn't..._

She could still feel his hot breath on her ear when he'd whispered, "I lied." _So Derek had lied. He does have feelings towards me... and I just totally threw them back in his face. I am such a monster. But I couldn't tell him the truth... Wait, what is the truth? Do you like him or not, Casey? Define like... Casey! Do you have feelings for Derek, more than just a stepsister should? I... _Casey groaned as she bit her lip. _OK! I DO LIKE DEREK! I REALLY, REALLY DO! _She'd finally admitted it. _But what does it matter anyway? Nothing can ever happen between us. You don't know that for sure... I do know that! Even though we are not blood related, our parents are still married and deeply in love with each other... It would be wrong. Maybe nobody has to know... But people _would_ know! It would get out eventually! Then we would be forced to break up, go to jail, and be known as Jim-Bob and Billy-Sue, the two stepsiblings who loved each other!! Whoa, Billy-Sue, don't you think you're being a little melodramatic? Take it easy... I can't take it easy! All I can think about is that kiss and how amazing it felt to have Derek so close, wanting me in return... _More tears flooded her eyes. _What am I going to do? I can't just avoid him forever; we live in the same house with our bedrooms right next to each other... You could go talk to him... I can't. I already plunged my knife into his heart. Derek probably hates me by now._

Casey sighed and looked at the clock beside her bed. It was 8PM and suddenly she felt very tired as she lay back against her bed. _Maybe this was all just a horrible night mare and I'll wake up tomorrow like it had never happened. Derek and I will be fighting as usual and George will still be spineless and let it go instead of locking us up together... and Derek and I will never have kissed. _

Casey closed her eyes. _It never happened. I don't like Derek, Derek doesn't like me, and we have no feelings whatsoever towards each other... It was all just a dream, a crazy horrible dream..._

* * *

Derek sat at his computer desk typing an essay for English class that was due next week. He had to take his mind off of Casey, so this seemed to be the only way to do it. Except the more he typed, the more he thought about how ridiculous this was. _You're doing homework to get over Casey? Isn't that something that Casey would do, not you? _He stopped typing and groaned. _Instead of forgetting about her, I've become her! _

He pushed his desk chair away from the desk, stood up and began pacing his room. _Why can't I just get over her? Why can't I just face the facts? Casey doesn't like me. She made that very clear when she completely denied me and slammed the door in my face. So why can't I just forget about her and move on? The Venturi-charm hadn't worked on her. There are many other girls out there that it does work on, so go after them. _He groaned. _I can't. She's the only girl that I can think of, the only girl that I want. _He stopped walking. _Look at you man, you've become a love sick puppy! A sap! What is wrong with you? _He sighed._ Casey is what's wrong with me... That kiss is what's wrong with me... Oh, how I wish I could kiss her again! I want her vanilla lips so bad its killing me! Had she really just been caught up in the moment? Did she really feel nothing back? Nothing at all? _He groaned again. _Why not?! Because she's your stepsister... But I don't care about that! Well, she obviously does. Yeah, which sucks! _

Derek threw himself down on top of his bed and looked at his clock. 8PM. _It's still so early... Will I ever be able to sleep tonight? I don't think I want to sleep tonight... All of my dreams will be about her, just like they are every night. But this night will be different because most of my dreams became reality today when we kissed. That means my dreams will involve even more... I can't bear to dream about that! It's torture! Especially since it almost happened today! Now it will never happen. Not unless we got married, according to Casey, which would be very awkward since our parents are married... _

A sudden knock at his door pulled Derek from his thoughts.

"Who is it?" He barked.

"Um, can I come in?" It was Lizzie's voice.

_What does Lizzie want with me?_

"What do you want?" Derek asked.

"I need to ask you a question..."

Derek sighed, stood up and opened his door to see his youngest stepsister standing there with a nervous look in her eyes.

"What is it?" He asked.

Lizzie shuffled her feet and played with a curl in her hair as she looked away from him, "Well... I was just wondering... what exactly happened between you and Casey today?"

His eyes lit up, "Why? Did Casey say something to you?"

"No."

He sighed with relief, "Then why do you want to know?"

She bit her lip, something Casey usually did when she was nervous, and finally looked up at him, "I was just curious... What happened in that basement to make you guys all friendly towards each other?"

"Not much." He shrugged, which was a total lie.

"Well... It must have been something more since you guys have been acting very strangely since then..."

"Look, Lizzie, nothing much happened. We just decided that our fighting all these years was foolish and that it would be better if we became friends."

"_Friends_... _You_ and _Casey_?" She looked sceptical.

"Yes. Why do you have such a hard time believing that?"

"Because you two have always hated each other..."

"Well we don't anymore, ok? So can you please leave me alone now? I have some homework to do."

She raised her eyebrows at him but didn't say anything as she sighed and walked away.

Derek watched Lizzie enter her bedroom and close her door. He then looked at the door next to his and thought about knocking on it but changed his mind and shut his door instead with a frown.

**Sorry it's pretty short. The next one is a bit longer... So don't forget to review and hopefully I'll get it to you soon. =]**


	10. Screw The World

**As always, thanks sooo much for the reviews and comments!! I didn't think the story was even that great... but I guess I was wrong. Haha. Here is the next chapter, even though I'm not done 11 yet... but don't worry I'm trying. Enjoy. Oh and lol. I'm glad you loved the part with Jim-Bob and Billy-Sue. I had fun writing that because it's so something Casey would say. Haha.**

**Chapter 10**

**Screw The World**

Casey opened her eyes to the morning sun shining through her window and turned to look at her clock. 9AM. She knew she was not going to be able to fall back asleep, so she sat up and pulled the covers off. She realized she had fallen asleep without changing her clothes, brushing her teeth, or washing her face. _Yuck, I feel so gross._

As she got up from her bed, the feeling and the image of Derek's lips on hers instantly flashed in her mind. Casey groaned. _Please, please, please tell me that was just a dream... _She pushed the thought aside and opened her dresser drawers to pull out her clothes for the day. A black skirt and a magenta sweater. She'd decided that she'd shower now, get dressed, etc and then go over to Emily's. _I have to get out of this house._

Casey had managed to slip into the bathroom without any kind of encounter with Derek. She knew the events that kept replaying over and over in her mind hadn't been a dream but she still preferred to think that they were. Just so she didn't have to admit what she had admitted to herself last night. _I do not like Derek. _She kept repeating to herself, even though she knew she was lying.

Once Casey had finished getting ready, she opened the door slowly and peeked outside to make sure nobody was there, more so that Derek wasn't there. And just as she stepped out and began walking towards the stairs, Derek opened his bedroom door and walked right into her.

"Whoa, Spacey, watch where you're walking." He snapped, not moving away from her.

"Who was the one that walked into whom?" She snapped back but didn't move either.

"What were you doing outside of my door anyways?" He asked with a cocky smirk.

"For your information, I was on my way downstairs and to get to the stairs I have to pass by your door."

"You sure you weren't just waiting for me to wake up?"

"Why would I do that?"

"Because you wanted to apologize for treating me the way you did yesterday."

"Who says?"

"I do," he smiled as he pushed a stray hair from her face, "And I know just how you can do it too." He grinned as he licked his lips.

The butterflies were back as Casey stared into his eyes. She wanted so badly to take his invitation and kiss him right then and there but she knew she couldn't, especially since they were right in the middle of the hallway. _Any one of our siblings could walk out and see us... I can't let that happen. _Casey finally got up enough courage and took a step away from him, "I do not need to apologize for something that I am not sorry for." She said as she turned and quickly made her way down the stairs.

_I can't believe him! He was acting like nothing happened! Like me yelling at him and slamming the door in his face was no big deal! And he actually tried to kiss me again! I wanted to kiss him so badly but it was too risky. This whole thing is too risky! I have to get out of here. _

Casey left a note on the counter for her mother telling her that she'd gone out and would be back later, and then she grabbed her coat and went out the door.

Casey decided it was probably still too early to go knocking on her best friend's door, so she jogged around the block a couple of times first. Now as she stood on Emily's front porch staring at the door, she wondered what exactly she would say to her. _I can't tell her what happened yesterday... she would be way too weirded out and never want to speak to me again... But knowing Emily, she'll be able to tell that something is wrong with me the moment she opens that door... _Casey sighed and decided to take her chances anyway as she slowly knocked.

"Casey? This is a surprise." Emily said as she opened the door.

"You don't want me here?"

"No, it's just that you usually call first before coming over that's all."

"Yeah, I forgot, sorry."

"No worries. Come on in." Emily said with a smile and she opened the door wider to let Casey in.

Casey took off her coat and shoes and followed Emily into the kitchen.

"I was actually thinking of calling you today anyway. My parents took my brother out shopping for his birthday and won't be back for a while, so I was going to be extremely bored." Emily said as she opened her refrigerator and pulled out a carton of orange peach mango juice. "Want some?"

Casey shook her head, "Not right now, thanks."

Emily shrugged, "Suit yourself but this stuff is great." She poured herself a glass and then put it back in the fridge as she took a sip and let out that refreshed drink sigh.

Casey stared at the floor and of course let her mind wander to a place she had tried to forbid it from. _Should I really have lied to him like that? It's obvious that he likes me back... Maybe I should just confess my feelings and get it over with... But what if this is all just another one of his stupid pranks and he's only doing this to trick me...? But why would he do that? I don't know! He could use it for blackmail or something... _

"Casey?" Casey looked up to see Emily staring at her with a puzzled expression on her face. "Did you hear me?"

"Huh?"

"I asked you if you knew if Marti would be attending Dimmy's party this afternoon?"

"What party?"

"Hello... Have you been listening to a word I'm saying? My brother's birthday is today and my parents are throwing a small party with a few of his friends. I know he and Marti aren't the best of friends but my parents thought it would be good for her to come as well. They sent the invites last week."

"Oh... um... I'm not sure."

"Is everything all right with you?" Emily asked as she set her empty glass on the counter and eyed her curiously.

"Yeah... Why?" Casey tried to keep a straight face as she spoke. _I suck at lying and Emily knows it..._

"Well, for starters, I tried calling you yesterday but there was no answer..."

"Yeah, sorry about that, my phone got confiscated."

"Confiscated? Why?"

_Shoot! There you go again, opening your mouth without thinking! I can't tell her about the basement... So now what do I say?_

"Um... Did I say confiscated? I meant to say that I... uh... lost it! Yeah, I lost it somewhere. Sorry."

"Ok... I can see where you confused the word confiscated with lost..." She said sarcastically.

"So, what time does the party start? Do you need help decorating or anything?" Casey changed the subject.

"Nope. My parents forgot all about buying decorations, so that's why they went out. Hopefully they'll make it back in time..."

"Well... how about baking a cake? We could do that. That would be fun." She smiled.

Emily shook her head, "Dimmy wants a store bought one from DQ. You know how kids love ice-cream cakes." She laughed.

"Yeah..." She forced a small chuckle. "So then... is there anything you need help with? How about cleaning? We could clean..." she glanced around the house and realized that it was already spotless, "something..."

"Casey, seriously, what is going on with you?" Emily asked she placed both hands on her shoulders and stared into her eyes.

Casey avoided those eyes as she looked down and shrugged, "Nothing's wrong, Em, I'm just trying to help."

"There is something you're not telling me..." She said as she stepped back and folded her arms across her chest.

Casey's eyes widened a bit, "No there isn't." She lied.

"Case, I've known you practically four years now, and I can tell when you're lying about something."

"I'm not lying." She nervously chuckled. _Grr! Curse my honest, not being able to lie self!_

"Is it about a guy?" She squealed with a grin.

Casey didn't say anything. She'd chosen just to keep her mouth shut because she couldn't trust its bursting ways.

"It is isn't it?"

"Em..."

"Ok, look, I can tell you're not ready to talk about it yet, so if you don't want to tell me now that's fine, but promise you'll tell me eventually, whatever it is? Or who ever it is?" She smiled.

Casey hesitated. _I don't think I'll be able to tell anybody about it ever... _"Sure, Em... when the time is right..." _Which will be never._

Emily kept smiling, "Good. So for the time being, I'll just guess who it's about..."

"Emily..." Casey groaned with irritation.

"I'm kidding." She laughed. "Sheesh, Casey, learn to take a joke once in a while."

Casey sighed, "I'm sorry. Maybe I should just go..."

"No way! I'm sure we can find something to do that will take your mind off of whomever it is you don't want to talk about..."

"You sure?" Casey smiled.

"Of course."

Casey wrapped her arms around her best friend's neck, "Thanks, Em. You're the best."

Emily hugged her back, "Just don't forget that when you decide to talk, you come to me first."

"I won't forget." _But I'm hoping you'll forget. You can never know about this... Nobody can. That is if I can stay calm and not make it so obvious that something is bothering me... _She sighed. _Good luck with that._

* * *

Derek heard the door open and turned his head from the TV to see Casey standing there with a smile. That smile, however, quickly vanished when she spotted him in his recliner.

"Where were you all afternoon?" He asked as he tried not to stare at her beautiful everthing.

"That's none of your business." She said as she hung up her coat and walked past him into the kitchen.

_I cannot believe her! She is being so immature about all of this! Why won't she just admit that she likes me too? Because maybe she doesn't... _Derek sighed. _Well I'm not waiting any longer to find out. It's now or never. And hopefully it'll be now._

Derek shut off the TV and stood up from his chair.

"Where is everyone?" Casey asked as she bit into some strawberries from the fridge. She hadn't noticed him walking towards her.

"Dad and Nora took Marti to buy a gift for some kid's birthday and Lizzie and Edwin went to friend's houses."

Casey jumped when she realized how close his voice was and immediately stood up from where she was sitting at the island, "So then we're here... alone?" She gulped.

Derek could see fear in her eyes. _Why is she so scared of me? _

"Yeah, I guess so." He walked into the kitchen and stood on the other end of the island across from her.

"What are you doing?" She asked as she watched him warily.

"I'm hungry. Is that a problem?" He asked as he walked around the island towards her and stopped at the fridge.

Casey walked around the other side slowly as she bit her lip.

Derek bent down and pulled out a piece of chocolate from the fridge and bit into it with a smirk, "Glad to see that this one wasn't melted. You want some? Or are you just going to take it?"

Casey shook her head, "I... I um... I'm going to go upstairs. Lots of homework to do." She said as she began to make her way in the direction of the stairs.

He knew that was a lie because Casey always made sure to finish her homework in class or on Friday so that she didn't have to wait till the last day to do it.

"Casey, wait." He said as he set the chocolate bar down and sprinted towards her.

Casey bolted up the stairs before he could grab her.

"Casey!" He yelled as he chased after her.

"Leave me alone, Derek!" She shouted back as she hit the last step and ran for her bedroom.

Derek caught up just in time to stop her from closing her door.

"Let go!" Casey snapped as he held the door open while she tried to close it.

"Will you just talk to me?"

"I don't want to. I have to do homework." She said as she kept pushing against the door.

"Casey, you know that's a load of crap. You have no homework, so quit avoiding me!" Derek snapped as he shoved the door open all the way and Casey stumbled back.

"Get out of my room." She seethed through clenched teeth.

"Not until you talk to me."

"Why won't you listen to me? There is absolutely nothing to talk about! I don't care about what happened in the basement! It is in the past now and I want to keep it there!" She shouted in fury.

"I don't believe you." He stated calmly.

"Well then you're more dense than I thought." She snapped.

He took a step towards her, "Insulting me only makes it worse."

"Makes what worse?"

"The fact that you're hiding something from me and just trying to cover it up. Why do you think I insulted you so much over the years?"

Her jaw dropped slightly at his confession but her eyes still sent daggers his way, "Well that's not the fact with me."

"Really? Then how come you're shaking right now?" He asked as he took another step towards her.

"Der-ek, stay away from me!" She said as she backed away from him.

"I love it when you say my name like that." He smiled.

She scowled, "Go. Away."

"I can't, Case. I'm drawn to you. Can't you see that?"

Casey's eyes were beginning to fill with tears as she pleaded, "Please, just leave me alone?"

Derek stopped and stared at her, "Why won't you just admit that you like me?"

"Because I don't."

"But you do!"

"No I don't! I already told you so!"

"You kissed me back!"

"So what?"

"So that means something. You don't kiss someone back if you don't have feelings for them, Case. And don't you dare say that you were only "caught up in the moment", either!" He stepped towards her again. He was only a few feet away now as she stood next to her bed.

"Derek..."

"What are you so afraid of? What is the big deal if we kissed? Who cares if we like each other?"

"Everyone will care!" She suddenly screamed. "It's incest, Derek! We're related by marriage! You're my stepbrother for crying out loud!" She was crying now and all he wanted was to hold her in his arms but he knew now was not the time.

"It's not incest if we didn't come from the same parents."

"It is in the world's eyes."

"So screw the world!" He took another step her way, only a couple of feet away now and surprisingly she didn't step back this time. "Casey... I can't believe I am going to say this but... I love you."

Casey's eyes almost bulged out of her sockets as she stared at him in complete and utter shock.

"What? You can't love me!"

"Why not?"

"Haven't you listened to a word I've just said? What would our friends say? What would our family say?"

"Well, Edwin already knows... sort of..."

"You told him?!" She stepped towards him with rage. "How could you?"

"I didn't tell him. He kind of knew that I liked you all this time... "

"So then he doesn't know about the kiss?"

"No, but he obviously guesses that's what happened downstairs. He's a smart kid."

She jabbed him with her finger in the chest, "But still! Edwin isn't the main concern right now... What about our parents? Don't you think they would object to the thought of us ever being together as more than just stepsiblings?"

"It's crossed my mind... but then again that's their problem."

"It could ruin their marriage, Derek!"

"If they love us like they say they do then they will have to accept it."

Casey then noticed how close their bodies were and went to step back but Derek grabbed her arms and pulled her closer.

"Derek..."

"Please, Casey, tell me... I just need to know... Do you love me back?" He pleaded as he forced himself to look into her eyes instead of at her lips.

Casey looked frightened and confused, "Derek, I..."

"Are you guys fighting again?" A small voice asked from the doorway and both teens spun around to see Marti standing there with a bewildered expression on her face.

**Sorry for the cliffhanger... I just can't help it. =] I'll try as soon as I can to get the next chapter up. Don't worry, I won't take more than two days. That's for sure. I just like to be a little ahead of myself in writing so that I'm not going crazy trying to write the chapter that I'm updating on the same day... Oh, and I wasn't too sure if that's what Emily's brother's name was or even how to spell it... so hopefully I got it right... Don't forget to review and review and review! I love recieving them!! You guys rock!! =D**


	11. Not A Chicken

**Thanks for the reviews!! I am so sorry but you guys are really going to hate Casey in this chapter... but just try to understand how she is feeling... Have some sympathy... And thanks Frogster, I changed the spelling to Dimi. Ok, so I hope you guys don't completely hate this chapter... Please be nice. **

**Chapter 11**

**Not A Chicken**

Casey immediately moved away from Derek and began wiping her tears with her shirt sleeve as Derek took a step towards his little sister.

"Marti, where did you come from?" He asked as he knelt down to be at eye level with her.

"Same place as you, Smerek, our parents." She grinned.

_Since when did Marti get sarcastic? _Casey wondered. _Well she practically is a little Derek..._

"Ha ha, very funny, Smarti, but when did you get home? Where are Dad and Nora?"

"They're downstairs. We just got home a couple of minutes ago and I wanted to show you what I got Dimi for his birthday. I heard voices from Casey's room, so I came to see what was going on..."

"And you thought we were fighting again?"

"Well what else would you guys be doing?"

"Well..."

Casey cut Derek off before he said anything else, "Yes, Marti we were fighting. I am sorry you had to see that."

"I thought you were friends now?" She looked upset.

"We are friends." Derek said as he stood up and placed his hand on the small of Casey's back.

Casey shivered at his touch and wanted to push him away but she couldn't in front of her little stepsister. All Marti wanted was for them to be friends, so she couldn't disappoint her.

"Well then why were you fighting?"

"It wasn't really fighting that we were doing... It was more of an argument..." Derek said with a smile.

"What were you arguing about and why were you standing so close?"

"Um..." Casey looked at Derek.

"We were arguing about who was taller." Derek answered.

"Oh... well, Derek is obviously taller." She stated matter-of-factly.

"I guess he is." Casey said as she stepped away from Derek and pretended to measure their heights with her hand. She smiled, "Thanks, Marti. You're so smart."

"No problem. Hence the name _Smart_i." She smiled back. "Now do you guys want to see what I bought for Dimi?"

"Sure, Marti." Casey said immediately. _Anything to get away from this conversation._

"But, wait, Casey, we weren't done our talking..." Derek said as he glared at her.

"Yes we are." She said as she followed Marti out the door and down the stairs, leaving Derek standing in her room alone.

She felt guilty for treating him the way she was. _Derek just confessed that he is in love with me! And that he's loved me all this time since we've been living together! _She had no idea what to say to that. _I like Derek... _She admitted. _But do I love Derek? Love is a very strong word... And I'm not sure if I feel that strongly towards him yet... It's way too soon. For crying out loud, I just now realized that I like him... but love... No. I don't love him. At least I don't think I do..._

"You like it?" Marti's voice broke through her thoughts and Casey turned to see Marti grinning as she held a baby doll in her hands.

"Oh, that's cute. Did Mom and George buy that for you?"

"No, they bought it for Dimi, the big baby."

"What?"

"Well, they think it was for me, but I intend on giving it to him and keeping the video game instead."

"Marti! Do you really think that is fair?"

"Yes. Dimi said he likes dolls."

"Really?" Casey placed her hands on her hips.

"Well not in so many words..."

"Marti..."

"Ok, so he doesn't like dolls... but so what? It's just a joke."

"It's not a joke if you steal his real present." Casey narrowed her eyes at the small girl who had gotten so big in the last year. "How about you give Dimi the game and then maybe if you ask him nicely, he will let you play it with him...?"

"Or I could just tell him that I forgot to get him a present and still keep the game." She smirked just like her oldest brother.

"Marti... you know that would be lying and lying is wrong."

"Do you ever lie, Casey?"

"Well..." _Great, Casey, now what do you tell her? You are such a hypocrite! Here you are telling her not to lie when these last couple of days that's all you've been doing!_

"Yeah, Spacey, _do_ you ever lie?" Derek came up from behind them with a grin.

Casey glared at him. _Why can't he just understand? Even if I do admit my feelings, our love is forbidden. Wait... Did you just say love? I certainly don't love Derek... It's a mere attraction is all._

"We're waiting, Princess." Derek said as he crossed his arms and leaned against the banister of the stairs.

Casey sighed and looked at Marti instead of Derek, "Yes, I've lied but only because I had no other choice."

"Well if I want this game then I have no other choice but to lie." Marti stated.

"No, Marti that is not what I meant. You cannot take Dimi's toy. It's wrong."

"You know what else is wrong, Case?" Derek asked as he leaned forward. "Not admitting that you like someone when you obviously do, especially if that someone just confessed their feelings for you."

"Casey likes someone? Who is it?" Marti became very excited as she looked at the both of them.

"I don't know... Why don't _you_ tell us Casey?" Derek grinned even wider as he leaned towards her.

Casey wanted to scream. _What is wrong with him? Marti is right here for crying out loud! Has he lost his mind?!_

Casey grabbed Derek's arm with a firm grip and began marching him towards the kitchen, "Would you excuse us Marti? Derek and I have to have a little chat." She tightened her grip on his arm.

"Ow!" He exclaimed.

"Shut it!" She whispered harshly as Marti began to follow them.

"Can I come too?" Her little stepsister asked.

"Not this time, Marti. I'm sorry. But why don't you go wrap Dimi's present for him." She suggested, trying to stay calm in her presence even though she was fuming on the inside. "There is some wrapping paper left over from Edwin's birthday in the closet upstairs."

"Ok, just as long as you promise not to fight."

"We wouldn't dream of it." Casey forced a smile.

"Good." Marti said as she sprinted up the stairs.

As soon as Marti had disappeared, Casey turned to Derek and whispered harshly with a scowl, "What was that about?"

"Ow, Case, will you let go already?" Derek cried.

Casey realized she was still gripping his arm very tightly in her anger and quickly released it, "Well serves you right."

"What did I do that was so wrong?" He asked as he inspected his arm that was now had a red handprint on it.

"You have got to be kidding me! You know what you did! What is your problem?"

"You're the one with the problem, not me."

"This is serious, Derek! Nobody can know about this!"

"Know about what?"

"You know what!"

"Hmm... refresh my memory again..." He said as he leaned back on the counter with a smirk.

Casey couldn't take it anymore and smacked him across the head.

"Hey! What was that for?" He asked as he held his head and looked at her.

"Quit treating this like it's nothing, Derek! I'm sick of this!"

"So then tell me you like me already and then we can start making out like old times." He smirked even wider.

Casey didn't say anything.

"Look, Casey, it's obvious you like me but I just want to hear you say it..."

"How is it obvious?" She asked as her cheeks turned a shade of pink.

"Well for starters, the way you keep freaking out... the way you keep lying to me only because you're afraid of what people will think, and you could have told Marti that there was no one that you liked, but you didn't because you knew you'd be a hypocrite if you lied to her like that." He smiled as he crossed his arms. "I know you better than you think."

"You know what? So what if I like you! Nothing can ever come of it anyway!"

He smiled with wide and happy eyes, "So you like me then? You admit it?"

"Yeah, I like you ok!" She exclaimed as she threw her arms in the air. "But that doesn't mean..."

Once again, before Casey could finish her sentence, Derek's lips had enveloped hers. But instead of kissing him back this time, Casey quickly pulled away from him and stepped back.

"Will you please control yourself?" She snapped.

"What?"

"Someone could walk in and see us. We're standing in the middle of the kitchen for heaven's sake!"

"So let's go somewhere a little private then. Say your room? Or if you prefer mine..." He grinned as he held her by the waist.

"Derek!" She snapped and stepped away from him.

"Casey, don't you dare say this is wrong! I am sick of hearing that! Who cares if our parents are married! I like you and you like me. Isn't that enough?"

"But what if they find out?"

"I already told you. They will just have to accept it."

"Derek, please, this is all just too much for me right now..." She said as she began to back away.

"So you're just going to leave me again like last night?"

"I just need to think..."

"Think about what?" He shouted. She could tell he was becoming annoyed with her.

"This... Us... I just need to be alone..." She said through watery eyes as she turned to leave.

"And how long is it going to take for you to _think_?" He shouted to her but she had already vanished up the stairs to her bedroom.

Casey closed her door and sighed as she leaned against it. _What is wrong with me? I can't keep doing this! I know I'm hurting him but truth be told, I'm scared... I've never felt this way towards a guy before... Not Sam, not Max, and definitely not Truman... but Derek? How did this happen? How could I have let this happen? Deep down I always felt something but I never ever in a billon years thought it would emerge! And I for sure never thought that Derek felt the same... and even more..._

Casey groaned when she thought about how she'd pulled away from his kiss in the kitchen. _I wanted to give in so badly and kiss him back so hard... but I couldn't! Especially since we were in the kitchen, out in the open where anyone could have seen us! I can't risk it no matter how strong I feel. I can't hurt my family like that. But you did just hurt Derek, AGAIN. I know and I'm sorry for that!! But I really do need to think about this! If we were to ever become a... couple... _She shivered at the strange thought. _Then we'd need to set some ground rules, especially involving family and friends. They cannot, under any circumstances, find out about this! Because... I admit with all of my heart, that I am ashamed! I am ashamed that I have actually fallen for my jerk of a stepbrother. I am ashamed that I like Derek._

_Ok, Casey, so what now then? I can't just go up to Derek and ask if he wants to become a... couple... These things take time... We need to take this slow... HE needs to take this slow... So are you going to talk to him then? Not now. Not yet. Maybe after dinner tonight... But you can't just avoid him till then... I won't be. _Casey smiled. _I promised Emily I would be back to help her with the party. You know that this will only infuriate Derek more? And what about me?! Don't I have feelings too?! Yours aren't the ones being pulled along on a string. I said I will talk to him later! If you don't chicken out again... I won't chicken out! We'll see... _

Casey huffed with frustration as she grabbed a book from her shelf and flopped down on her bed. _Now, do you mind leaving me alone? I would like to read._ _Fine, but you better not brawk out tonight. Hehe. Get it? Brawk out instead of back out? Because you're a chicken. I made a joke. I am not a chicken! _Casey opened her book to the first page and ignored her crazy thoughts as she began to read.

**Again, please don't hate me for making Casey seem like such a jerk. I promise the next chapter will be better. Pinky swear. =] So for now, review and I will update soon.**


	12. Woozy

**I've been feeling pretty sick today and wasn't going to update yet but you guys are just so awesome at reviewing that I had to do it for you. I know you'll like the most part of this chapter... But the story is not done yet...**

**Chapter 12**

**Woozy**

"So how was the party?" Nora asked as the Venturi-Mcdonald family sat down to dinner.

"It was all right." Marti shrugged as she bit into a piece of steak.

"Did Dimi like his present?"

"Yeah." Marti sighed.

"Well then what's the problem, dear?"

"I just wish I had that game too."

"But you did the right thing today, Marti, and for that I am very proud of you." Casey smiled as she winked at her little stepsister.

"Yeah, and Dimi did say that I could come over any time and play with him." Marti smiled back.

"That's good to hear." George said.

Casey looked away from Marti and knew Derek was staring at her. He had been staring at her all night since she'd returned from the party. She kept avoiding his eyes and continued to eat her supper.

_What am I going to say to him? How am I going to say it? I don't think I can do this... No matter how much I like him, Derek is still my step-brother... But you don't think of him in that way. True, I don't... but still... You know you want to kiss him again. Yes, I do... but... And you know you want him to hold you... Yes, but... And hear him whisper in your ear how much he adores and loves you... I do, ok! But that still doesn't change the fact that... You love him, Casey. Yes... wait! What?! I don't love Derek! Yes you do. Derek is the one that is in love with me... And you love him back. _

Casey's eyes glanced at Derek for a brief second before she brought them back down to her plate. The rate at which her heart was beating so rapidly in her chest told Casey what she kept denying. _Great... so I not only like Derek, I am now in love with him._

* * *

Derek couldn't stand the way Casey kept ignoring him. It was driving him nuts. _Why won't she look at me? Is she done thinking about the situation? What if she decided that she wants nothing to do with me? Then what will I do? How I will I get over her if I see her every day, morning and night...? Knowing that her room is a wall away from mine... I can't. It's impossible. And if Casey thinks she can just get over me in a snap, that's ridiculous. Plus I'll make her regret it so badly that she'll wish she had chosen me in the first place. _

Derek caught her glance up at him for a quick second but then she went right back to staring at her plate.

_Casey admitted she likes me. _Derek's stomach fluttered. _She finally admitted it. There is no way I will let her take it back. If she still tries to ignore me after dinner, I will take things into my own hands. She won't be able to resist me. Not for long. _He smiled as he ate a spoonful of potatoes.

* * *

Lizzie watched warily as Derek kept staring at her sister. _Is it really true? Does Derek really like Casey? _When Edwin had revealed his secret observation to Lizzie in the closet the other day, she hadn't believed him. She couldn't believe him. _Derek and Casey hate each other. They have always hated each other. Why would they be attracted to one another? That's just wrong. _

"I know something happened in that basement, Liz." Edwin had grinned.

"You're full of it." Lizzie rolled her eyes.

"You'll see. They like each other. I even caught them about to kiss on the couch yesterday morning."

"You did not." She was becoming extremely irritated.

"Derek was right on top of her, they were both practically naked, and their faces were inches apart."

"Casey would never kiss Derek, let alone like him!" She snapped.

"And that's where you're wrong, sis. Casey _did_ kiss Derek and judging by the way she was acting towards him, I'd say she does like him, a lot"

Lizzie didn't know what had come over her but she couldn't take the way Edwin was talking about her sister anymore, so she suddenly brought up her fist and punched her stepbrother in the gut.

"Edwin, I'm so sorry!" She immediately apologized as he keeled over in pain.

"What was that for?" He asked as he clutched his stomach.

"Just stop talking about my sister that way. I know her better than anyone and Casey would never tolerate this kind of thing. It's practically incest for one, and two, Casey hates Derek. End of story. So drop it." She said as she helped him up and opened the door.

"Look, before you go getting all mad about it, I think you should see for yourself. Just watch the way they are around each other. Ever since they came out of that basement, they've changed."

Lizzie groaned with annoyance as she let go of him and quickly walked away before she really did hurt him again.

"You'll see." He called after her as she slammed her bedroom door.

Now as Lizzie ate steak and mashed potatoes, she couldn't help but notice Derek's constant staring at Casey and Casey's constant avoidance of him. It wasn't like those two to be so quiet at the dinner table. It was weird and creepy.

"We just decided that our fighting all these years was foolish and that it would be better if we became friends." Lizzie remembered Derek saying when she'd gone to his room to talk to him. She was hoping he would have admitted that he still hated Casey but he hadn't. And to top it all off, he'd said that he had homework to do when he was trying to get rid of her. _Derek doing homework... on a Saturday? Something must really be bothering him..._

Lizzie saw Casey glance up at Derek for a second and then she quickly looked back down. _Is she blushing?_

Then another memory from the night before came to her head of Casey screaming about not liking some guy.

"It's no one." She had said even though Lizzie could tell Casey was lying and that she did really like whoever this guy was.

Her eyes went wide. _It's not Derek is it!?! It can't be! Casey did seem really bothered about liking this certain person... And usually Casey would have told me who it was... unless she's ashamed of whom it is... In that case, the only person Casey would feel so ashamed of liking is... DEREK! Then Edwin was right? But Casey and... Derek? _Lizzie shuddered at the thought. _Casey's my sister... and I've actually grown to accept Derek as my older brother and like him in that way... Now if Casey and Derek become a... c-couple... then Derek will be my sister's boyfriend who is also my big brother...? That is too weird! I can't let this happen! And what if Mom and George find out! What would they do? They would kill them! _Lizzie took one last look at the two older teens and frowned. _I have to stop this before it gets out of control!_

"I'm done. Can I leave the table now?" Lizzie asked as she looked at her mother.

"But Lizard, you've hardly touched your food."

"I... I'm just not that hungry. I ate a lot at Michelle's house." She lied.

"Well, all right then." Nora shrugged. "Scrape your plate before you go upstairs."

Lizzie nodded as she avoided her siblings questioning eyes and left the table. _I need to make a plan to stop those two from liking each other. It's the only way._

* * *

Casey had made a beeline for her bedroom right after dinner, hoping to avoid Derek just a little bit longer, so she could figure out exactly what she was going to say to him when the time came. She knew it wouldn't take long for him to barge into her bedroom, so she had to think fast.

Unfortunately she wasn't fast enough as Casey watched her door open and groaned.

"So, you done _thinking_ yet?" Derek asked as he entered her room, closed it and locked it.

Case turned away from him and didn't reply.

_What do I do? I can't even look at him without feeling woozy. Woozy? There's that weird word again. _Casey sighed. _Derek makes me woozy._

"What, you're still not going to look at me?" His voice asked as he stood behind her.

Casey felt his hand on her shoulder as he turned her around, forcing her to look at him.

"I'm guessing you've decided to just forget about all of this and act like it never happened?" His eyes looked hurt as he spoke.

"Derek..."

"Why can't you just accept it? Why can't you accept that you and I both have feelings for each other? Why can't we become more?"

She looked at his feet.

_I do want more... I'm just scared. I thought you weren't a chicken? I'm not! Nora McDonald had a kid and chicken was her name-o. _Her mind sang.

"Look, I know I've been a jerk to you in the past but you have to believe me when I say that I never wanted to be. All I ever wanted was to like you and tell you that I liked you... but the fear of the world and our parents took a hold of me just like it has its hold on you." Derek continued speaking. "Only unlike you, I finally admitted my feelings and stopped caring what others would think. Now I only care what you think and at the moment it doesn't feel too great."

Casey still couldn't get over how much Derek had changed these last couple of days. _Since when does Derek ever like to talk about feelings? It's usually me who would be rambling on like this and he'd be the one standing silent while I did. _She couldn't help but fall for him even more as he continued to tell her how he felt. _No guy has ever fought so hard to have me the way he is._

"I love you, Casey; I seriously and truly love you! I can't help it, and I can't control it. I love everything about you. The way you smile, the way you get so excited over things, the way you smell, the way you dance, the way you enjoy homework and learning, I even love the way you get mad."

Casey's heart was beating like a wild drum as she finally looked up into his deep brown eyes. They were so serious and so full of passion that she believed every word coming from his mouth. _Derek has become a sap... and I don't mind it one bit. _She smiled.

* * *

Here Derek was pouring his heart out and all Casey did was stand there and stare at the floor. He didn't even care how sappy he was being right now. _If it brings Casey into my arms then that's all that matters. Dude, even that was sappy... but I don't' care. It's about time I loosen up. If Casey likes a sappy guy, then she's going to get a sappy guy._

"... I even love the way you get mad." He'd finished saying as he stopped to breath. His heart was beating a mile a minute as he waited for her to respond.

His eyes went wide as Casey finally looked up at him and she smiled. Then his world lit up like million fireworks going off at once as Casey suddenly pulled him close and planted her lips on his in a deep and passionate kiss.

It was Derek's turn to pull away this time as he looked at her in shock and bewilderment, "W-what was that for? I thought you didn't like me?"

Casey bit her lip and smirked, "Derek, I... I love you too."

Derek had never felt as happy in his life as he did now. He pulled her towards his body and began kissing her again. It felt so good to finally hear those words form her mouth, to feel her vanilla lips on his once again. He wanted it to last forever.

A sudden knock on the door shattered those hopes immediately as the two teens broke away from each other with very guilty faces.

"Casey?" A voice asked from behind the door. It was Nora.

**I know, another cliffhanger, but just be happy you got kissing this time, etc. Thanks for reviewing and I hope that you continue to review. I love reading them! They make me very happy and I need to feel happy right now since I'm sick... =( Love ya guys! 3**


	13. What's The Plan?

**Hey guys, sorry I wasn't able to update in a couple of days... I was rushed to the hospital on Monday night and have been pretty sick since then. They don't know exactly what's wrong with me though, which really sucks, but hopefully things will turn out ok. Here is the next chapter because I know you have been waiting anxiously for it. Thanks for all the reviews and everything else. You guys are awesome!**

**Chapter 13**

**What's The Plan?**

Casey looked at Derek and whispered, "What do we do?"

"What do you mean?" Derek whispered back.

"Well don't you think this looks a little suspicious? You... and me together... in my room... with the door locked...?"

"So tell her you were helping me with homework."

"_You_ doing homework? She won't fall for that." Casey rolled her eyes.

"Casey, are you in there?" Nora asked and the doorknob twisted.

"She'll believe it if it's coming from you. Casey _never_ lies remember?" He said sarcastically. "Now answer her."

"Yes, mom, just hold on a minute." Casey replied as she tried to stay calm. She sighed and looked at Derek. "Fine, it's worth a shot..."

Casey walked over and opened the door to see her mother standing there with a curious expression on her face.

"Why was your door locked?" Nora asked.

"Um..."

"It does that sometimes. I've been meaning to fix that for her." Derek spoke up from behind her.

Nora's eyes went wide at the sight of her stepson in the room with Casey, "Derek, what are you doing in here?"

"Casey was helping me with an assignment that's due tomorrow for school."

"Really?" She looked sceptical.

"Um, yeah!" Casey said. "Derek was afraid of failing, so I offered to help him."

"Yeah, she's kind of forcing me." Derek added. "I didn't want help, especially from Casey, but she insisted."

"Well I just don't want to see my stepbrother fail high school and have to repeat another grade, again." She smirked.

"That's very nice of you, Casey." Nora smiled. She then glanced around the room. "Where are your books? How are you helping him without any books?"

"Um..." Again Casey had no idea what to say.

"She was just about to grab them when you knocked." Derek saved her once again.

_I have to learn how to lie. Maybe Derek can teach me again some time... Especially since we'll be lying a lot now..._

"Ok... well I'm actually glad that you are here, Derek, I wanted to talk to you both about something." Nora said as she entered through the doorway and smiled.

"T-talk about w-what?" Casey asked as she began to panic.

_She knows! Mom knows about me and Derek!! She knows that we kissed and that we love each other!_

"Well... I just noticed at dinner this evening that the two of you were acting very strange."

Casey glanced at Derek and she could see that he was thinking the same thing she was.

"What do you mean?" Derek asked.

"Well... you were quiet, unusually quiet. You two are usually arguing or fighting about something..."

"But you don't want us to anymore. That's why you locked us in the basement, Mom." Casey said as sweat began to dampen her skin.

"Yeah, you wanted us to become friends, so that's what we did." Derek added.

"But that's just it... you weren't even acting like you were friends..." Nora sighed. "I don't know, maybe it's just me... but is something going on between you two?"

"What do you mean?" Casey asked as she tried not to raise her voice.

"Well... I don't know... Maybe it's all in my head... maybe I just miss your fighting now that you're not doing it."

Casey let out a small sigh.

"Nothing's going on, Nora, I can assure you. Casey and I have realized how childish we were being and have decided to stop. Hence the fact that we're actually doing something right now together." Derek said with a smile.

"I guess you're right. I'm sorry for interrupting your studies. Carry on and don't mind me. I'll be going now." She said as she waved and left the room.

Derek closed the door and immediately grabbed Casey by the waist with a grin, "Now, where were we?"

"Derek, wait, we can't do this. Not now." Casey said as she moved from his embrace.

"Then when?"

"I... I don't know... but we need to stop and think about this..."

"You're not going to kick me out so that you can be _alone_ again are you?"

"No, of course not. I just mean that... well... are we... you know..."

"Together?" He asked with a grin.

She nodded.

"I'd like us to be." He said as he grabbed her hand. "But how do you feel about it?"

"I just don't like having to lie to our family like this..."

"So let's tell them."

"No! We can't!"

"Then we have to lie."

Casey groaned, "I know." She let go of his hand and sat on her bed. "Do you think we can do it?" She looked up at him.

Derek sat next to her and took her hand in his again, "First, _you_ need to learn how to lie better."

"Will you teach me?"

"Can I kiss you first?"

Casey blushed, "Not yet. How about we meet in here later tonight?"

Derek's eyes widened, "Really? What happened to saving yourself for marriage?"

"You're not getting that lucky." She frowned at him. "I only meant so that we could talk more about this whole thing."

"Just talk?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Of course not." She grinned as she leaned forward and kissed his cheek softly. "But for now, you have to leave. I don't want anyone else getting suspicious."

"Do I have to?" He pouted as she pulled him up to his feet.

"Yes."

"What time do you want to meet?"

"Around 9:30... That way most of the sibs and our parents will be in their bedrooms."

"9:30 it is." He smiled as she opened the door. "Hey, Case." He whispered before walking out.

"Yes?" She smiled.

"I love you." He grinned.

"You're such a sap." She laughed as she closed the door.

_* * *_

_What just happened? _Derek asked himself as he walked the few feet to his bedroom door. _Casey admitted that she loves me... Casey loves me! And she kissed me! More than once! And she's considering becoming a couple! A secret couple... but who cares! _He was ecstatic as he turned the knob to his door and opened it.

"Hey, bro." Edwin said as he spun around in Derek's desk chair with a grin.

"E-Edwin, what are you doing in here?" Derek asked as he tried to hide the permanent smile etched onto his face.

"What's got you so happy?" Edwin asked as he looked up at him.

"Who said you could go in my room without my permission?" Derek immediately went back into his older brother mode and glared.

"What were _you_ doing in Casey's room?" He smirked.

"That's none of your business. Now get." He snapped as he pointed out the door.

"I know something is going on between you two."

"You know nothing. Now get out of my chair."

Edwin stood up and walked towards the door, "You can't keep it a secret for long, you know. _Nothing_ gets kept a secret for long in this house."

"Good bye, Edwin." Derek said as he shoved his brother out the door and locked it.

* * *

The minute Edwin stepped outside Derek's room and the door was closed, he was yanked by the arm into the games closet.

"We need to talk." Lizzie said as she flicked on the light and shut the door.

"You couldn't just ask?" Edwin said as he rubbed the arm she had pulled on.

"Sorry, but this is very important."

"I thought you were mad at me?"

"Look, will you just listen to me?" She snapped.

"Ok, ok. What's the emergency?" Edwin asked with his hands in surrender.

"I believe you."

"About what?"

She smacked him on the shoulder, "Hello! I believe you about Casey and Derek!"

Edwin grinned, "Ohhh... I see you've finally come around? Isn't it great?"

She scowled at him, "No, it is not great!"

"Why not?"

"Because! Don't you see what this could do to our family?"

"Yeah, Casey and Derek won't be fighting anymore and we'd finally get some peace in this house." He smiled.

"It could also cause our parents to split up!"

Edwin was silent for a moment.

"Obviously you hadn't thought of that when you started your stupid observation, did you?"

"Well... I..."

Lizzie groaned, "Do you ever think?"

"Look, there's nothing we can do about it now. I just heard Derek _and _Casey confess their love for each other."

"What? When?"

"Just a few minutes ago in Casey's room."

"You were spying on them?"

"Of course I was."

"Love? Are you sure?"

"I'm positive."

"But... It's too soon."

"I'm guessing they secretly loved each other the whole time and they couldn't hold it in any longer."

"But Casey... She's never loved another guy before, ever. And now all of a sudden she does and it's Derek of all people! The stepbrother she hates!"

"Not anymore." Edwin corrected her.

"But she will soon enough."

"What do you mean?"

"I love my sister, Edwin, and I want her to be happy but... I cannot let this relationship between our siblings continue. It's too dangerous and not to mention very awkward."

"You want to break them up?" Edwin exclaimed a little too loudly.

Lizzie clamped her hand over his mouth and told him to be quiet, "I have no other choice. It's either them or _my_ mom and _your_ dad." She moved her hand away from him and stepped back. "I need your help. Are you with me or not?"

Edwin thought about it for a moment. _But_ _I wanted them together! I also want Dad and Nora to stay together as well... I love Nora like a mom and I know Marti really loves her too. I can't risk them getting a divorce because Derek and Casey are in love. Plus, I'd rather not get on Lizzie's bad side again. _He thought as he remembered the pain that was still lingering in his stomach from her fist.

"Well...?" Lizzie waited impatiently as she crossed her arms.

Edwin sighed, "All right, I'll help you, but I'm not happy about this. Derek is finally happy; I hate to have to ruin this for him."

"I know. I feel the same way, trust me, but we have to." Edwin could tell by the look in her eyes that she was serious. Lizzie really was feeling guilty about the whole thing.

"So then... What's the plan?"

**So there you go for right now... I know you guys are probably hating me for this idea but I have a plan, so bear with me... The story isn't over yet... Please review, especially now since I'm still pretty sick. They'll make me feel a lot better. =]**


	14. Sleep Potion

**Hey, sorry for the little wait... I've still been pretty sick and now my Dad is in the hospital, he had a heart attack but hopefully he'll be okay... So things have been pretty crazy for me... But here is the next chapter. Thanks for reviewing and being so understanding. I Love you guys!**

**Chapter 14**

**Sleep Potion**

Casey sat in her desk chair and stared at a blank computer screen. She had wanted to get a head start on assignments due next week but all she could think about was Derek, the stepbrother she'd just confessed her feelings for. He would be coming back around 9:30 that night, so that they could discuss their relationship and where it was going exactly.

_Derek and I a couple... I still can't believe this is happening. After all the fuss I put up about how we couldn't be together... and then it just happened... I couldn't help it... I had to kiss him. However, my mom just had to interrupt... Maybe it was a sign? Maybe her interrupting us meant something? Maybe we really aren't supposed to be together and it was all just a mistake? Casey... You love him don't you? _At the thought her stomach began to flutter again. _Yes, I do. And Derek loves you, so quit over thinking things. _Casey sighed. _You're right. I love Derek and he loves me. That's all that matters. _

Casey glanced at the clock. It was only 8:15 PM. _I wish 9:30 would hurry up and get here. _She groaned. _You anxious to see your new man again? I guess I am. _She smiled as she shut off her computer and leaned back in the chair. Her mind immediately began to drift away to thoughts of him holding her close and their lips pressed together.

A knock on her door broke Casey from her day dream as she sat up and wondered who it could be.

She glanced at the clock. 8:20. _Maybe he couldn't wait any longer?_ A smile formed on her mouth. _I should be really angry with him for not waiting but I can't help it. I'm glad he came sooner. _

"Come in." She sang sweetly as she stood up, ready to meet him in an embrace.

As the door opened, Casey was slightly caught off guard when it turned out to be Lizzie and not the love of her life standing there.

"Lizzie?" She tried to hide the disappointment in her voice as she let her sister in.

"Who else were you expecting?" Lizzie asked with one eyebrow raised.

"Um... no one." Casey forced a smile as she sat on her bed and looked up at her little sister. "So... what's up? Something bothering you?"

Lizzie closed the door behind her and stood still for a second, thinking.

"Liz?"

She snapped out of her trance and finally looked at Casey as she sat down next to her, "I need some advice."

Casey was shocked. Lizzie never came to her for advice anymore. It was usually Casey who had to beg for her little sister to tell her about her personal life, "Oh... What about?" She tried to hide her excitement.

"Well... It's about a boy..."

* * *

Derek lay back on his bed with his arms crossed behind his head waiting anxiously for 9:30 to come around. He couldn't wait to see her again, to smell her, to feel her, to taste her... He was craving for more Casey. Needing more Casey. She was his addiction. He had tried to distract his mind by watching a movie or reading a magazine but all he could think about was her.

Derek glanced at the clock. It was 8:15 PM. He still had an hour and a half to wait. He groaned as he stood up and started pacing the room. _Maybe she won't mind if I just show up a little sooner? She can't stay mad at me for long. _He grinned. _I have to see her now!_

Derek was about to open the door when there was a knock from the other side. The grin on his face became even wider. _She couldn't wait either. She wants to see me just as bad as I want to see her. _He opened the door expecting to see her beautiful everything but was taken aback when it turned out only to be his little brother, Edwin, beautiful nothing.

"Hey, bro. Going somewhere?" Edwin asked with a smile.

Derek frowned, "What do you want now, Ed?"

"I... uh... I need to talk to you about something. It's kinda private."

"Not now, I'm busy." Derek went to close the door but Edwin stopped it with his foot and pushed it back open.

"Derek, I'm serious. I need some guy advice." Edwin pouted.

"So go talk to Dad, he's a guy."

"He's also my Dad which makes it a little awkward sometimes. You're the one I want to talk to."

Derek groaned as he shot a glance towards Casey's closed door then back to his brother's pleading face, "Fine." He said as he let his brother in. "But this better not be long."

"Why? Do you have plans?" Edwin smirked.

"It's none of your business. Now if you want my advice, get talking or we're done."

Edwin sat down on Derek's bed but quickly stood back up when Derek gave him 'the look'. He sighed and began to talk, "So, it's about this girl..."

* * *

"And now this guy won't stop asking me. I don't know what to do..." Lizzie finished saying as she let out a heavy sigh and looked at her sister.

Casey glanced at the clock for the hundredth time. 8:50 PM. _Whoa! Lizzie's been talking that long! I have to get rid of her before Derek comes!_

"So... What should I do?" Lizzie asked, breaking Casey from her thoughts.

"Um..." Casey could barely remember the story she had just been told. She'd been too busy thinking about Derek. "What do _you_ think you should do?" She asked.

"I don't know. That's why I'm asking you."

"Well... you should..." _Ok... it was about some guy... and something about asking her out or something like that... Come on, Casey, remember... _"Uhh..."

"Casey, did you even hear a word I told you?" Lizzie asked with a frown.

"I heard some of it..."

"Casey..."

"Ok, so I wasn't really listening... I'm sorry, Liz, I guess I kind of got distracted."

"And what has you so distracted?" Lizzie crossed her arms.

"I... I'm just worried about school tomorrow..." She lied.

"Really? When are you ever worried about school?"

"There's this essay for English class that's due next week and I still can't come up with my thesis statement."

"Whatever, Case. I'll just leave you alone then." Lizzie sighed as she got up and headed for the door.

"Sorry, Liz."

Casey felt bad. _I just lied to Lizzie... Has Derek really become even more important than my sister?_

* * *

"And then this girl was all like 'You will date me, Edwin Venturi, or I will tell all the girls that you're a bad kisser' and I was like 'how would you know if you've never kissed me?' And then she suddenly grabbed me and..."

"Ed... Are you done yet?" Derek interrupted as he glanced at the clock. 8:50 PM. _He's been talking that long...? _

"Hold on, D, I'm just getting to the good part."

"No, you're just getting to the part where you're done and now you leave my room. Good bye." He said as he stood up and shoved his brother towards the door.

"B... But you haven't even told me what to do yet...?"

"Stop telling lies, that's what you should do." He said as he opened the door and ushered him out.

"Who says I'm lying?"

"I can read it all over your face. Why would any girl try to force herself upon you?"

"It could happen."

"In your dreams, Ed." Derek said as he closed the door.

_Only a_ _half an hour more till we can be together again. _Derek smiled as he sat back in his chair and thought about the first thing he'd do when he sees her.

* * *

As Lizzie closed the door to her sister's room, she couldn't help but feel hurt by Casey's actions. _Casey usually would've been all over my story about a guy but instead she didn't pay attention to me at all. _Even though her story had been made up, it hurt that Casey hadn't been paying attention to her. _She was probably too busy thinking about Derek to care about me. _She grimaced as she stood in the hall.

"In your dreams, Ed." Lizzie heard Derek say and she turned to see Edwin being kicked out of Derek's room as Derek closed the door.

Edwin saw her standing there and walked over, "Any luck?"

"None. All she kept doing was staring at the clock. She hardly listened to me at all."

"Wow... this is serious."

"I'm guessing you didn't have any luck either?"

Edwin shook his head, "He kept looking at the clock as well... I'm guessing they're meeting up some time tonight."

"Then we have to stop them."

"We already tried. We couldn't even distract them long enough to make them forget about each other."

"Then we try something else."

"Like what?"

Lizzie was about to start thinking when she heard George complaining loudly about something in the living room.

"Do I have to take them? Why can't I just try to fall asleep on my own?"

"Because you can't, George, you've been trying to sleep for two weeks now and it hasn't been working. The doctor said to crush up these pills into some kind of liquid and you'll fall asleep in no time." Nora's voice replied.

Edwin looked at Lizzie with an evil grin on his face, "I've got an idea."

* * *

"So why do I have to give Smerek a cup of hot chocolate?" Marti asked as she looked up at her stepsister and brother. They had handed her a mug of sweet smelling, steaming liquid.

"Because," Lizzie said as she knelt down to Marti's height, "you know how much Derek loves hot chocolate and he'll love it even more when it's coming from his favourite little sister."

"But why now?"

"Because Derek is feeling a little sad tonight and we thought it would cheer him up." Edwin added.

"Why is he sad?"

"Because... he misses Sally."

"I thought Derek got over Sally a long time ago...?"

"Look, Marti, just bring him the drink. We don't have much time."

Marti gave them both suspicious looks but decided to do what they wanted anyway. What if her brother really was sad about something? She couldn't let him down.

"And don't forget to make him drink it in front of you." Lizzie said as Marti began walking towards Derek's door. She didn't bother asking why as she rolled her eyes and knocked.

"I knew you couldn't resist..." Derek said as he opened the door with a grin but stopped when he saw Marti standing there.

"Marti? Shouldn't you be getting ready for bed?"

"I wanted to bring you something." She smiled the smile that she knew he couldn't resist.

Derek saw the mug in her hand and raised an eyebrow, "What's that?"

"It's hot chocolate, silly."

"But what's it for?"

"It's for you. I thought you would like some." She said as she offered it to him.

Derek took the hot drink from her hands and stared at it, "Thanks, Smarti, that was very nice of you. Now you better get going to bed or Dad and Nora won't be too pleased."

"Aren't you going to drink it?" She asked.

"Well... it's probably too hot right now..."

"It's not that hot. I want to see you drink it first."

Derek looked down at the drink again and was about to say something when Marti made her pouty face.

"Oh, all right. I'll drink it." He sighed, giving in to her cuteness power and lifted the cup to his mouth.

* * *

"Yes!" Edwin whispered from behind the stairway as he and Lizzie watched Derek gulp down the hot chocolate they'd made him. "It worked!"

"Now we just have to wait and see if it truly works or not..." Lizzie said from beside him.

"How long will the sleep potion work?"

"Sleep potion?" she have him a questioning glance.

"I thought I'd give it a name, since we've become evil geniuses and all." He smirked.

"You are so lame." Lizzie rolled her eyes.

"So how long will it take?"

"The 'sleep potion' shouldn't take too long." She mocked him.

"Soon Derek will be fast asleep and he'll forget all about meeting up with Casey."

"And once Casey finds out that he fell asleep instead of meeting up with her, she will be so mad that soon she'll forget all about loving him."

They both grinned as they watched Derek finish the drink and hand the cup back to Marti. He said good night to her and closed the door as Marti turned to look at them, giving them a thumbs up.

"You know we're going to have to tell her eventually?" Edwin said as he gestured towards Marti.

Lizzie sighed, "I just hope she'll be able to keep it a secret."

"I'm sure she'll make a good evil minion."

**So there it is. And don't get me wrong, I actually really love the characters of Edwin and Lizzie, so I'm not making them evil because I don't like them or anything... Remember, I have a plan. ;] So please review. =]**


	15. The Weather Changes Unexpectedly

**Happy Easter!!!**

**Ok, I wasn't going to update today because I'm a little behind and I'm still not too sure on how this chapter went... but whatever... I know you guys have been waiting patiently. I'm still pretty sick but getting better. And my dad is still in the hospital but I guess he's doing better too, which is really good. Thanks for thinking of him and me. You guys are awesome! One thing I am really Happy and thankful about from this whole experience is that he is finally going to quit smoking!!! I have been begging him to quit since forever! I am soooo Proud of him!! Thank you God!**

**Thanks for the reviews as always and hopefully the next chapter isn't too bad...**

**Chapter 15**

**The Weather Changes Unexpectedly**

Derek opened his eyes and glanced at the clock. 7:34 AM. He almost went back to sleep when he suddenly bolted up in bed and exclaimed, "It's morning!" He quickly pulled the covers off of him and realized he was still dressed in the clothes from yesterday. _What happened last night? _He remembered drinking the hot chocolate from Marti and then suddenly feeling really tired. _That was weird... _He stood up and walked to the door. He then stopped and his eyes went wide. _If I fell asleep, that means I didn't meet up with Casey in her room! She's going to kill me!_

Derek grabbed some clean clothes and rushed into the bathroom. He then showered, got dressed, combed his hair and opened the door back up. He glanced out into the empty hall and stared at Casey's door. _Is she still sleeping? Maybe she forgot to set her alarm? If I wake her up now, she'll forgive me for falling asleep last night instead of meeting her... Yeah, right! She'll still kill me and blame me for her sleeping in. _Derek decided he had no choice. _I'll have to face her eventually... _

He walked up to her door and lightly tapped it. Then he knocked a bit harder but there was still no answer, so he opened the door cautiously and peered inside. Her room was empty.

"Casey?"

"Casey's already downstairs." Marti said from behind him, startling Derek and making him jump.

"Whoa, Smarti! Don't sneak up on a guy like that!" He said as he held his pounding heart.

"Sorry, Smerek. Why are you looking for Casey?"

"I was just wondering if she needed a ride to school." He partly told the truth because he was going to ask her that if he got the chance.

"Ok." Marti said as she shrugged her shoulders and began to skip down the stairs.

"Marti, wait!" Derek caught up to her before she got all the way down and grabbed her shoulder. "Do you know if Casey is a little more... irritable this morning than usual?" He whispered.

"She seems normal to me. Why? Did you pull another prank on her?"

"Um... no... not exactly..."

"I thought you were friends?" She looked hurt.

"We are, Smarti, don't worry." He ruffled her hair which made her smile. "Now how about we go eat some breakfast?"

"Sounds good to me." She said as he scooped her up in his arms and carried her down the rest of the stairs and into the kitchen.

Derek stopped in the doorway when he saw Casey sitting at the island eating a piece of toast. Her back was to him.

"Can you put me down now?" Marti asked.

Derek realized he was still holding his little sister and let her down, "Sorry." He mumbled as she ran to her spot at the island and began eating her bowl of cereal that Nora had made her.

"Good morning, Derek." Nora smiled.

"Morning." He smiled as he ran a hand through his hair and sat down next to Casey.

"Morning, Case." He said as he leaned towards her.

"Derek." She nodded and continued to eat her breakfast without even looking at him.

He placed his hand on her knee without anyone but her noticing and whispered into her ear, "Can we talk?"

She finally looked up at him but it wasn't a pleasant look. _Wow... If looks could kill. _He thought.

"We were supposed to talk last night." She whispered back as she shoved his hand off of her.

"I don't know what happened..."

"You went to sleep, that's what happened!" She whispered harshly as she glared at him. "Obviously sleep was more important." She said and then stood up.

"Casey..."

She ignored him as she rinsed her bowl, set it in the sink and grabbed her bag, "Have a good day, Mom." She waved to Nora and then disappeared out the back door.

Derek groaned as he got up, grabbed his bag and raced out the door before Nora could question his actions.

"Casey, wait a sec!" He called as she stomped down the walkway.

"Leave me alone, Derek!" She shouted back.

He caught up to her and turned her around by the shoulder, "Please, just hear me out?"

Casey stopped but didn't look at him.

"Look, I don't know what happened... One minute I was looking at the clock wishing it was 9:30 already and then Marti brought me some hot chocolate, I drank that, and then I don't know... The next thing I know is that I'm waking up and its morning."

"I waited for you, thinking maybe you were in the bathroom or sick or something, so I went to check on you and what do I find? _You_ SLEEPING!"

"Trust me, Case, I didn't mean to... I don't know what happened..."

"Do you want to be with me or not?" She blurted out as she stared hard into his eyes.

"Y-yes, yes I do. I love you, Casey." He pulled her towards him. "Please, forgive me for my idiocy?"

She looked up at him, her eyes softening, "Do you really mean it?"

"I want to be with you more than anything. You're all I can think about. Please, don't be mad at me? I can't stand it. I need you." He smiled as he whispered in her ear.

Casey sighed, "Ok, I'll give you another chance, but don't blow it this time."

"I don't intend to." He said as he placed his lips on hers.

Unfortunately, they heard the back door slam as voices began coming their way.

"Of course." Derek sighs as Casey moves away from him and their little brother and sister emerge from the corner of the house.

"Sheila would never date you, Ed, she thinks you're weird."

"So what if I'm weird, I'm still good looking."

Lizzie and Edwin stopped walking when they noticed their older siblings.

"Hi, guys." Casey smiled nervously.

_That girl seriously has to learn to lie better. _Derek thought as he stepped in front of her.

"Hey, Derek, are you guys driving to school today?" Edwin asked.

"Maybe. Why?"

"Because I heard it might rain, so we were wondering if you could drop us off on your way to school."

"No way." Derek scoffed.

"Please, Derek?" Lizzie asked as she looked up at him. "We don't want to get all wet."

"And not to mention our books as well." Edwin added.

Derek glanced up at the sky, it was completely clear, "You guys are full of it. It's not going to rain."

"The weather changes unexpectedly."

"Please, Derek?" Lizzie asked again. She then looked at her sister, "Casey, you don't want us to freeze do you?"

"Derek just give them a ride." Casey said, giving into their sad faces.

"Who says I was even driving you?" He asked as he looked at her.

For a second she looked hurt until she realized what he was doing, "Oh, come on, Derek, it won't hurt to be kind to your siblings for one day." She said as she punched his shoulder.

He let out a pretend groan, "Fine, I'll drive you guys and Casey too, even though I'd rather make you walk in the soaking rain."

Casey smiled as he winked at her and started walking towards the driveway where he'd parked the prince. _I've got to get a new car. _He thought as he stared at the rusted vehicle.

"That was very nice of you." Casey said as she leaned against the top of the hood and smiled at him. "And very smooth, pretending to be mean to me."

"I wish it was _only_ you that I was giving a ride to..."

"We'll get time alone later." She smiled as she opened the door and got inside.

Derek opened his door and sat behind the wheel, "Where are those tweens anyway? If they don't get hurrying then I'm leaving without them. Rain or no rain."

* * *

"So that plan didn't turn out like we'd expected." Edwin said as he and Lizzie watched Derek and Casey walk around to the front.

"You think?" Lizzie was really upset as she looked at her stepbrother.

She was so happy when she'd seen that Casey was in a bad mood that morning and she knew it was because of Derek. She was hoping that that would be the end of their relationship but then she and Edwin saw them kiss when they glanced out the window of the kitchen and knew they had to think fast.

Just seeing her sister and stepbrother kissing gave her the shivers. It was too weird. She had to admit though that they do look happy together...

"So what now?" Edwin asked as he adjusted the back pack around his shoulder.

"We have to take things to a whole new level."

"And how exactly do we do that?"

"I'm not sure yet... but meet me at lunch in the library and we'll talk then."

"Edwin, Lizzie, get your butts in this car or I'm leaving you for the 'supposed' downpour!" Derek's voice yelled from the driveway.

"Good idea, getting a ride with them." Edwin grinned.

"We can't let them be alone together."

"What about at school? We don't exactly have any power there..."

"I doubt Casey would put Derek before her schooling..."

"You never know with love..."

"Coming from the person who's never even been in love." Lizzie said as she shoved him and sprinted for the car before Derek drove off.

"Hey, wait up!" Edwin called as he regained his balance and ran after her.

* * *

After they had dropped their younger siblings off at school, Casey turned to Derek with a very serious expression, "I know things are very... different between us now... but that doesn't mean we treat each other differently at school."

"What are you talking about?"

"I mean, no acting like..." She lowered her voice even though they were in a car with nobody around, "like we're in love..."

"Oh... So you mean I can't just grab you," he pulled her close, "and kiss you in front of everyone?" He said as he kissed her softly on the lips with a smirk.

Casey pushed him away, "Der-ek!" She glanced out the car window nervously as junior high kids made their way into school. "What if someone had seen us? What if Lizzie or Edwin had seen us?" Her eyes went wide.

"Chills, Casey," Derek smiled, "nobody saw us. You really need to lighten up."

"And you really need to start taking things seriously." She huffed as she crossed her arms.

"What, now you're mad at me again?" He rolled his eyes. "I can't help it that you taste so good." He put on a pouty face as he looked into her eyes. "Please forgive me, Casey? I promise not to show my affection for you in public again."

Casey sighed with a smile, "Luckily you're so cute." She quickly glanced out the windows again and then leaned over and kissed his lips. "And you taste good too." She smirked.

Derek grinned as he put the Prince into drive and pulled out of the parking lot and headed towards the high school.

* * *

"What is up with you today?" Emily asked Casey as they stood by her locker in the school hallway.

"What do you mean?" Casey asked, avoiding her friend's suspicious stare.

"Well... You've been acting very strange... You're all smiles and giddy..." Her eyes lit up at a thought. "It's about that secret guy isn't it?"

"Um... well..."

"Casey, come on, I'm your best friend, please tell me?" Emily begged as she gripped Casey's arm.

"Em... I..." Casey couldn't think of what to tell her.

_I can't tell her the truth. She wouldn't understand... And not to mention the fact that she's had the biggest crush on Derek since forever! What am I going to do?_

Just then the bell rang and Casey let out a huge sigh of relief.

"I have to get to class now. See you later, Emily." Casey said as she closed her locker and began making her way to class.

"You better tell me at lunch then." Emily said before going off in the opposite direction.

As Casey was about to walk into her English class, she felt a nudge in her side and turned around to see Derek walking by with Ralph and Sam. The nudge had been so hard that she'd dropped her books all over the floor.

"Der-ek!" She shouted.

"Klutzilla strikes again." He laughed and continued walking.

As Casey began picking up her text books, she saw Derek turn around and wink at her with a grin.

_When I told him not to show anyone that he loves me, I didn't mean for him to act like a total jerk! _She growled as she stood up and walked into class.

* * *

"So... Its lunch time now..." Emily said with a eager smile as she set her tray down on the table across from Casey.

"Yep it's lunch time." Casey replied with a nervous chuckle.

"Come on, girl, spill already!" Emily exclaimed with a girly squeal.

_How am I going to get myself out of this? There is no way I am going to tell her about Derek and me... Emily is the biggest gossiper in the school. If I tell her, soon everyone will find out..._

"Good afternoon, Ladies." Derek said as he sat down next to Casey with a smile.

"Derek... Why are you sitting with us?" Emily asked. Casey could tell she was trying to hide her excitement. She knew Emily was screaming inside at the fact that Derek was sitting across from her at the same lunch table.

"Yeah, _Derek, why_ are you sitting with us?"Casey asked as she glared at him.

"Just wondering what the daily gossip is today." He smiled as he looked at Emily.

"Well... Casey has a new guy in her life... but she hasn't told me who he is yet." Emily said as she leaned forward.

"Oh, really?" Derek grinned. "Well then, Case, why don't you tell us?"

Casey felt Derek snake his hand along her knee and jumped.

"Whoa, Casey, what's wrong?" Emily asked, completely unaware of what Derek was doing.

Casey slapped his hand away and stood up, "Would you excuse us, Em, I need to have a little _talk_ with Derek."

Emily shrugged, "Ok... I guess... but don't think it'll get you out of telling me about this mystery guy."

"Oh, don't worry, Emily, she'll tell you all about him when she gets back." Derek said as Casey yanked him out of his seat and dragged him out into the hall, which conveniently was empty at the moment.

"What are you doing?" Casey snapped as she shoved Derek up against the closest locker.

"What? You're not even going to tell Emily, your best friend?" He asked.

"No! What part of secret don't you understand?"

"Oh, because I already told Sam about us."

She shoved him harder and shrieked, "You what?"

He chuckled, "I'm kidding, Case, calm down."

"This is not funny! If you think this relationship is all just a joke, then we're through."

"Uh... technically we never even began..."

"Oh, and who's fault is that? Who was the one that fell asleep instead of meeting me to talk about it?"

"Look, I already apologized for that. I truly am sorry."

"And what about earlier today when you made me drop my books? Are you sorry for that?"

"I didn't mean for you to drop them..."

"But you still laughed about it and insulted me!"

"What was I supposed to do? If I had apologized and stopped to help you pick them up, my friends would've asked questions," he placed his hands around her back to calm her down. "After all, you told me to treat you the same way I always treat you at school..."

"I just meant not to make it obvious that we're in love with each other!"

"You're what?!"

Casey and Derek both turned to see Emily standing there with a shocked and hurt expression on her face.

"Emily!" They both cried.

**I know... ANOTHER cliffhanger. I'm a sucker for them. It's just so much fun to drive the readers nuts sometimes... only I know what happens next (well once I write it anyway...) Hehe. But don't worry, I still love you. Hopefully you still love me too... Please Review! =) And I hope you had a great Easter and remembered what the real meaning of it is. ;)**


	16. Fault

**I am so sorry that I haven't updated in a few days. I've been kind of stressed this week. My dad has to have heart surgery and he's pretty nervous about it, and so am I. So please, if you pray, keep him in your prayers. It would really help a lot.**

**I had a lot of problems writing this chapter and had to rewrite it a couple of times because my mind wasn't really working. It's shorter than usual, sorry, but I promise to make the next chapter longer. It's a pretty serious chapter... I hope you still like it anyway...**

**Chapter 16**

**Fault**

Casey stared at her friend, trying to form an explanation for what she'd just heard but all that came out of her mouth was silence. Even Derek was speechless at the moment. Casey glanced at him, hoping he would be able to make up a believable lie since she obviously couldn't.

"Casey? You... and Derek?" Emily asked as she took a step towards them.

Casey realized that she and Derek were still standing really close and quickly took a step away from him as she stared at her friend, "Well... Uh..."

"Emily... are you serious?" Derek suddenly spoke. "Do you actually think that _Casey_ and I would be together? Talk about gross!" He said as he shuddered.

"But I heard Casey say..."

"We're practising for a play." He said as he leaned up against the locker in his cool and collected way.

"A play?" She didn't believe him. "Then how do you explain the close proximity that your bodies were in before I interrupted?"

"Good acting." He shrugged.

Emily crossed her arms and looked at him like he was an idiot, "Ok, well then tell me this... If you hate Casey so much, then why would you even bother helping her practise for a play?"

_Oh, she's good. _

"She paid me."

Casey couldn't take it anymore. She knew Emily wasn't falling for it and she had to admit, his lying was really badly done this time.

"Derek... It's all right..." Casey said as she put a hand on his shoulder and looked at Emily. "It's true."

"So... Derek is the secret guy?" Emily raised an eyebrow.

Casey nodded.

"You weren't going to tell me about him, were you?" She frowned.

"I... I wanted to."

"But you weren't going to." She crossed her arms. "I thought we could tell each other everything?"

"We could... we can."

"I thought you were my best friend."

"I am, Em." Casey reached out to her but she stepped back.

"Not anymore." Emily said and turned to leave.

"Emily!" Casey called as she watched her friend's back retreat through the now busy hallway.

_She's gone. I can't believe this. Well what did you expect? I don't know... I guess I'd hoped that she would accept it and maybe be happy for me... But you lied to her and not to mention the fact that she's had a crush on Derek pretty much all her life... I know ok!_

She felt Derek's hand on her shoulder as he spoke with a serious voice, "Do you think she'll tell anyone?"

The bell rang before she could answer him and all she wanted was to get to class on time. She glanced at him, trying to fight the tears that wanted to escape, and then without looking back, Casey hurried down the hall to her next class.

* * *

Derek gripped the steering wheel as he and Casey drove home in silence. The events of the day were still gnawing at his insides. He knew it was his fault. _If I hadn't bugged Casey so much about it, she wouldn't have reacted the way she did. Now it's my fault that her best friend may very well never speak to her again... _

He had tried to talking to Emily when she passed him in the hall but she'd completely ignored him like he didn't exist and kept on walking, which was something he never, in a billion years, thought Emily would do.

As the Prince pulled into the driveway of their house, Derek turned off the engine and reached across the seat to take Casey's hand in his, "You okay?"

She only sat there staring out the window, biting her lip.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not right now, Derek, just give me some space." She said as she opened her door, grabbed her bag and made her way to the front steps.

Derek groaned as he grabbed the keys and hurried out of the car to catch up to her before she got inside the house, "Casey!"

He reached her before she could grab the door handle and touched her arm, "Casey, please don't ignore me?"

"Derek, just let me be. I have a lot of homework!" She snapped as she pulled away from him.

He grabbed her hand and held it tight, "Homework can wait! Why don't you just tell me what's on your mind? Talk to me, please."

Casey sighed as she turned to face him and a single tear fell from her eye, "You don't want to know what's on my mind."

"Why not? Is it because you blame me for what happened? I am so sorry, Casey, I didn't mean for things to get so crazy. I didn't mean to get you mad and have Emily find out about us. I know this will be like the hundredth time today that I have asked this, but please, Case, please forgive me?"

More tears began to fall from her eyes as she stared at the pavement beneath their feet, "I don't blame you."

"But it's my fault."

"No, it's my fault, Derek! This whole mess is my fault! This should have never happened!"

"What should never have happened?" He asked even though he knew what she was going to say.

"_This_!" She said as she gestured towards their intertwined hands. "All of it! We should never have done this!"

"Casey..." His stomach began to ache even more so now.

"I should never have given in. Kissing you was a huge mistake and telling you how I felt was even more of a mistake!" She cried as she pulled her hand out of his.

"Well you can't just take it back!" He was now becoming angry and couldn't believe what she was saying. "You told me that you loved me, Casey, and I will not let you take it back!"

She finally looked at him and anger flashed though her eyes along with pain, "No one will accept this, Derek! We'll be known as freaks! The stepsiblings who love each other!"

"And I told I don't give a crap about what anyone thinks!"

"Even my best friend doesn't want to hang around me anymore, probably because she's ashamed of me."

"You don't know that! Emily's probably just mad because you couldn't tell her the truth in the first place. And do you know why, Case? It's because you're ashamed of yourself!"

"And can you blame me? I can't stand keeping this secret from everybody! Having to lie to my family and now the world! I can't even look at you in public without fearing that someone will catch on!"

He now held both of her arms as he stared into her teary blue eyes, "I have loved you since I first set eyes on you and have only _dreamed_ of one day having you. Now I _do_ and you're just going to take that away because of the stupid world's opinion? Why does the opinion of others matter to you so much?"

Casey shook her head, "It just does. I'm sorry; Derek, but I can't do this anymore."

He let go of her and stared at her in shock, "So what, now you're just going to grab a shovel and bury your feelings? You're just going to forget that any of this ever happened?"

She didn't look at him.

Derek suddenly shoved her against the door and held her body close to his as he whispered against her ear, "Well I won't."

"Derek? Casey?"

Derek turned around to see Edwin and Lizzie standing there with curious expressions of their faces. He moved away from Casey wondering how long the two teens had been standing there and how much they'd heard.

"What's going on?" Edwin asked.

"Casey, are you crying?" Lizzie immediately went to her sister's side with concern.

Casey took one last glance at Derek and then opened the door and ran up the stairs to her bedroom.

"What happened? What did you do?" Lizzie asked as she advanced upon him accusingly. For a fourteen-year-old she was pretty tough.

"_I _did _nothing_. Don't always assume that Casey's the victim." He said and then walked past them as he went back towards his car, got in and sped off.

* * *

"Do you think they...?" Edwin began to ask.

"But we didn't even do anything... at least not yet..."

"I guess we didn't have to. Maybe the sleep potion worked after all."

"No, there's something more."

Lizzie's stomach was twisting into knots. She felt horrible. The thought of her sister and stepbrother together bothered her but she knew she had been selfish to try and break them up. Seeing how happy they were this morning when they'd made up in the back yard, had made her feel so guilty for trying to sabotage them. They were in love, and even though she had no idea what love felt like yet, she knew it was something that should be able to breath and be left alone.

"Well, whatever it is, it worked. Casey and Derek seem to hate each other again, so now you have nothing to worry about." Edwin said as he slapped her back in congrats.

Lizzie, however, did not feel like celebrating.

"I have to go talk to her." She said as she turned to go inside the house.

"What for? Aren't you happy? This is what you wanted."

"I don't want it anymore."

"But, Liz..."

"Look, Edwin, I'm sorry I dragged you into this. You're a great friend," she smiled. "But now I know I've made a huge mistake and I need to fix it."

"I can help." He offered.

"If I need you, I'll call you."

She made her way slowly up the stairs, not sure exactly what she would say to her sister once she confronted her, but she knew it had to be done. It was her fault this had happened to begin with.

**Please don't be mad at me... I do have a plan, I promise! Things will get better soon, you'll see. =] Thanks for the reviews! I always enjoy reading them and thank you so much for being nice about my dad. I'm feeling better now at least. =] I just hope my dad will be soon as well. You guys rock my socks! (which is a pretty weird comment if you ask me, but w/e. Haha)**


	17. What's Done Is Done

**I am sooooo sorry that I haven't been able to update in a while. Unfortunetely for me, I have a weak immune system and got sick AGAIN. It only lasted a few days but it was not fun. Cold/flu. Not pretty at all. But thanks for being patient, I am really trying to update on time. Things are just really crazy around here right now. I'm going to Hollywood with my band this summer to compete in this world talent competition so we've been trying to prepare for that... We have to pick five songs to perform in five different categories, make them into under 60 seconds each, and we also have to write two one minute monolgues as well, which is not as easy as I thought it would be... If anyone has any suggestions for a 1 min comedy for three people, let me know... And also my dad is going for his surgery this friday, so I've been worried about that as well. I know it will all go fine, I just can't help but feel overwhelmed by all of it though... Thanks for those of you who have been praying for my dad and wishing him the best. It really means a lot. And thanks for all the comments! =)**

**Well... enough about me... Here is the next chapter. It's really long this time, so be happy, even though there isn't much Casey and Derek interaction... sorry... but you will get that soon, I promise. And I did something at the end that I was really debating on doing because I wasn't sure if I really wanted to add that... but I did anyway because I know some people might appreciate it... So yeah, enjoy...**

**Chapter 17**

**What's Done is Done**

Casey sobbed openly into her pillow after she slammed her bedroom door and threw herself onto her bed. She'd just broken up with Derek. She'd just broken up with her stepbrother whom she had only been dating for a day. She'd just broken up with her first love. Her first real, heart wrenching love. And why? Why did she just break up with Derek, why did she just break up with the guy she was in love with?

_Because I am a fool. I am a stupid, stupid fool! I just broke up with Derek! But I had no choice... This wasn't going to work out. It never would have worked out. It is just not possible for Derek and me to be a couple. Not without lies, secrets, insecurities, shame, guilt... The list continues... I could go on forever but I really don't want to right now... I can't. _

Casey sat up and wiped her eyes, "I have to forget."

"_Well I won't." _Derek's voice rang in her head. She could still feel his breath on her neck.

_Why can't he forget? Why can't he just admit that we are not meant to be together!? It's obvious, or else our parents wouldn't be married! Derek Venturi needs to learn that he doesn't always get what he wants in life. It doesn't work that way! _

Her thoughts drifted to his eyes when she'd told him that they couldn't be together. They were so shocked and full of pain that she thought he was actually going to cry. But instead of crying, his eyes held hers, those deep set brown eyes, and she knew that he loved her more than anything.

_He's right. There's no way I'll be able to just forget. We live in the same house for goodness sakes! Our rooms are right next to each others! _Casey groaned and began hitting her pillow in frustration. _It's just not fair! I finally find love and I can't have it! _

She was so angry with herself and the world that she grabbed up her pillow and threw it across the room, not expecting it to suddenly speak.

"Whoa!"

Casey turned to see Lizzie standing in the doorway with her pillow in her hands. She must have opened the door just as Casey threw it and caught it.

"I guess I should have knocked..." Lizzie said as she closed the door behind her and cautiously made her way towards her sister's bed with concerned eyes.

Casey immediately began wiping her tear filled eyes and sat up as Lizzie handed her pillow back.

"So... do you want to talk?" Lizzie asked as she sat on the end of the bed.

Casey squeezed the pillow to her chest, not sure what to say.

"Casey, look... I know about you... and Derek."

Casey's eyes went wide. _Lizzie knows! How does Lizzie know? Does anyone else know? _

"I... I don't know what you're talking about." Casey said as she avoided her sister's gaze.

"Yes you do, Case. You and Derek love each other."

Casey stared down at the pattern of her blanket. She couldn't speak.

She felt a hand rest on her shoulder and looked up into her sister's eyes that were now misted with water.

"I'm sorry, Casey."

"What are you sorry about? I was the stupid one to fall for my stepbrother."

"I... I was angry... When I found out about the two of you... I was disgusted and afraid... You're my sister and I consider Derek my brother... It was weird for me... So I... I tried to break you up."

Casey didn't know how to respond to her sister's confession. Suddenly the tears began flowing again and she couldn't control them as they began pouring out like a dam had burst apart.

"But... but now I realized that it was wrong of me..." Lizzie continued to talk as she rubbed Casey back reassuringly. "I had no right to come between you two. I'm sorry I broke you up."

Casey sniffed and wiped her eyes once again as she looked at her sister, "You were right to be angry with us, Liz. Derek and I didn't break up because of you; we broke up because of me. I can't stand to be in a relationship that is built upon lies and secrecy. I am too afraid of what other people will think."

"But, Casey, you love each other..."

"I also love my mother and my step father and my friends."

"What do they have to do with it?"

"Everything! What would Mom and George have to say if they found out about us? If they found out that their two oldest teens who are supposed to love each other as brother and sister, but love each other as more?"

"Maybe they would accept it if they saw how much it meant to you..."

Casey shook her head, "Emily didn't. She doesn't even want to be my friend anymore. If Mom and George found out, they would disown us as children."

"But Casey..."

"I may love Derek, but we cannot be together."

"And how does Derek feel about that?"

"It doesn't matter. He will just have to accept it and move on."

"And you're just going to move on?"

"We have no choice, Liz."

"But you do, Casey! You and Derek are in love! You can't just get over love!"

"This coming from a love expert?" Casey cocked her eyebrow.

"I may not know the feeling personally, but I do know what it is and trust me, you won't be able to just get over it that easy, especially since you guys live in the same house..."

"We will be graduating in a month and then we will be off in our separate paths, to start our own futures that won't involve each other. I will forget Derek Venturi. I have to."

Lizzie stood up and her face was red with anger, "You know what, Casey? You are being really ridiculous and idiotic about this!"

Case was caught off guard by her sister's sudden outburst.

"You are too stubborn to look past what other people think and to just follow your own heart and desires! You always called Derek a jerk in the past but look at you! Who's the jerk now?!"

"Liz..."

"At first I didn't want the two of you together, but when I saw how much you cared for one another, I knew I couldn't break you apart. I can learn to live with my sister and my stepbrother being together just like everyone else can learn to as well! Even you!" She walked towards the door and opened it. "And don't worry; your _secret _is safe with me." She snapped bitterly as she walked out the door and slammed it behind her.

_Wow... Lizzie is really mad at me... Well do you blame her? Yes... well... actually... no. _Casey sighed. _I don't know who I blame. Maybe I should blame my mom and George for all of this. Yeah! That's it! I will blame Mom and George! It is their fault for ever getting married in the first place and forcing Derek and me to like each other! Casey... you can't blame them... _She sobbed and threw herself back down on her bed. _I know, but I need someone to blame... Then blame yourself for being so stupid and breaking up with Derek. But I did the right thing. Do you feel like you did the right thing? Yes. Really? So what Lizzie said just now didn't affect you one bit? Well... maybe a little... But it's too late now. I already broke up with him. What's done is done._

Her cell phone suddenly started ringing and Casey jumped up to see who was calling. The caller ID said Derek.

_Ring Ring._

_Should I answer it? Yes._

_Ring Ring._

_I don't think I can..._

_Ring Ring._

_Try._

_Ring Ring._

_Ok..._

Casey was about to open the phone when it stopped ringing.

_That was a sign! I am not supposed to talk to him yet. No, that just meant that you took too long to answer it. I can't talk to Derek! Yes you can! No, I can't! Well then I was right! Right about what? You are a chicken!_

The phone began to ring again and instead of opening it, Casey decided to turn it off.

_I can't talk to him just yet. Chicken._

* * *

Derek entered the house late that night, hung up his leather jacket, and walked into the kitchen. He presumed everyone was already in bed as he opened the fridge and pulled out some leftover meatloaf. He walked over to the microwave and put it in.

"When did you get home?"

Derek turned to see Edwin standing in the doorway with his arms crossed.

"What are you doing up? It's practically midnight." Derek said as he pressed the minute button on the microwave and it started.

"I was waiting for you. Dad and Nora were really worried; luckily I covered for you and told them you were doing a science project with Sam."

"They bought that?"

"Not really but they let it go anyway."

"Well thanks."

"So where were you all evening?" Edwin asked as he took a seat at the island and leaned forward on his elbows.

The microwave beeped and Derek pulled out the plate of food, "Nowhere."

"How could you go nowhere if you obviously went somewhere?"

Derek grabbed a fork and stabbed the meatloaf with annoyance, "What does it matter to you anyway?"

"Derek, I know you're hurting."

"You know nothing."

Edwin smirked, "Actually I know quite a bit. You and Casey were dating, sort of, and you admitted that you loved each other, and then you broke up because Casey couldn't stand keeping the secret of your relationship from everyone."

Derek didn't say anything as he shoved a forkful of meat into his mouth, avoiding his brother's stare.

"So... where were you?"

"I was driving."

"You drove around for nine hours?"

"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" He snapped and shoved another forkful into his mouth even though his stomach was no longer hungry.

"Look, D, if you love each other, then you should be together."

"Tell that to Casey." He scowled as he dropped the fork on the plate and shoved it forward.

"Why don't you just go talk to her?"

"Because she obviously doesn't want to talk to me. I've been trying to call her all night."

"Well she's right upstairs, go now."

The thought had crossed Derek's mind the moment he'd walked through the door but he was too furious to even look at her right now, let alone speak to her. And not to mention the guilt that was now eating away at him due to his actions that night. He hoped Casey would never find out what he'd done. _Or maybe it would be better if she did. If Casey wants to screw around with me then I'll screw around with her (not in the sexual way of course, I only wish it was that way...). I'll show her not to mess with Derek Venturi, I'll show Casey what she'll be missing now that she's not with me, and I'll make it so hard for her to forget that she'll wish she'd never broken up with me in the first place._

Derek grinned as he picked up the plate of leftovers, placed it back in the fridge, and stood to face his little brother.

"So you're going to talk to her?" Edwin asked with a smile.

"Nope." Derek began walking towards the stairs.

"Ohhh, you're going to wait till the morning to do it..."

Derek shook his head, "Casey McDonald is going to regret ever dumping me."

"W-what do you mean?" Edwin jumped off the stool and grabbed Derek's arm. "Derek, please don't tell me this involves one of your stupid plans?"

"You'll see, Ed, you'll see." He said as he pulled away from his grasp and walked up the stairs.

Derek only glanced at Casey's door for a second before he groaned and entered his bedroom, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

Edwin ran up the stairs once he heard Derek's door slam and bolted into Lizzie's room. He closed the door softly behind him and was about to turn on the light but stopped when he knew Lizzie would kill him if he blinded her and woke her up at the same time.

"Lizzie." He whispered as he neared her bed.

The room was dark but he could just make out her form sleeping snug under her sheets. She wasn't using her blanket since it was so hot in the house due to the summer heat outside and the air conditioning not working properly.

"Lizzie, wake up." He whispered a little louder.

He was almost to her bed when he suddenly struck his toe on something hard and let out a loud cry of pain, "Owww!"

As Edwin held his toe and jumped around in pain, Lizzie shot up in bed and shrieked.

Before Edwin could say anything, Lizzie suddenly catapulted off the bed and tackled him to the floor.

"What the heck are you doing in my room in the middle of the night?" She snapped as she pinned him down.

Edwin's eyes were getting used to the darkness now and he could see that she was really angry as he stared up at her face.

"Did you really have to pummel me to the ground?" He asked, now noticing the pain not only in his foot but everywhere else.

She ignored his question and grabbed him by the collar, practically choking him, "What are you doing in here, Edwin?" She seethed through clenched teeth.

_So walking into Lizzie's dark room at night and waking her up was not such a great idea after all... _Edwin thought as her grip on his collar tightened.

"I'm sorry for scaring you, I didn't mean to."

"And what were you meaning to do?"

"I-I just wanted to tell you something, something majorly important."

"It couldn't wait till morning?"

"Not really."

Lizzie drilled him with her eyes and finally released her grip on his shirt. She was still sitting on top of him and he was beginning to feel extremely uncomfortable, especially since her knee was pressed against his groin.

"This better be worth it, Ed, or you will seriously regret coming in here."

_I'm already regretting it._

"Uh, Liz, before I tell you, can you please get off of me? You're kinda crushing my man bits..." He said awkwardly.

"Oh, uh, sorry..." Lizzie immediately got off of him and stood up. She then offered a hand to him and helped him up off the floor.

Edwin couldn't tell if she was blushing from embarrassment or not, but suddenly his stomach began to feel weird in her presence as he looked at her.

Lizzie moved to the side of her bed and turned on the switch to her lamp as she sat down on the bed, "So what's up?" She asked.

Edwin scratched the back of his neck and sat down a few inches from her. She was dressed in a pair of shorts and a baggy green t-shirt. It was kind of odd seeing her in baggy clothing since she'd decided to change her whole look at the beginning of the new school year. He'd liked the new look on her; it just took some time to get used to the new more girly Lizzie. He had felt more comfortable around her in the old days when she was dressed like a guy.

"So, spill, what's so important?" Lizzie's voice cut through his thoughts.

"Oh, um, right... So I was waiting up all night until Derek got home and he finally just got home like twenty minutes ago."

"This late? Do Mom and George know?"

"No, luckily they were already in bed thinking he was at Sam's doing a last minute science project."

"So did you talk to him?"

"Yeah, I asked him where he was all night but he wouldn't tell me. I thought I smelt a bit of alcohol on him... but I wasn't sure... Then I told him that I know about him and Casey."

"What did he say?"

"Nothing."

"I then told him that if he loves Casey he should go and talk to her. I thought he was actually considering it when he suddenly grinned and began walking up the stairs. But instead he told me that he wasn't going to talk to her and that Casey was going to regret ever dumping him."

"What?" Lizzie looked upset. "What did he mean by that?"

"I have no idea. He left before I could get a straight answer. He only said that I would see."

"Well what do _you_ think he's going to do?"

"I honestly don't know. It could be anything with Derek. All I know is that he's really angry about the whole thing and when Derek is angry, it won't be pretty."

"How could he do this? I thought he loved Casey?"

"Casey told him flat out that she wanted to forget about him, right?"

"Yeah, that's what she said when we overheard them earlier."

"So that must have cut deep. I know_ I_ would be completely crushed if the girl I loved said that to me."

Lizzie sighed, "So what do we do?"

"We want them together now right?"

Lizzie thought about it for a moment and nodded her head, "I can't stand to see Casey so miserable and upset. She didn't even come down for dinner tonight and pretended she was sick."

"Yeah, and I can't stand seeing Derek like this either."

"So now the plan is reversed. Instead of breaking them up, we now want to get them together again."

Edwin nodded, "The only question is how?"

"I just hope Derek doesn't ruin it all by doing something completely idiotic to Casey tomorrow. He better come to his senses."

"Let's hope so."

Lizzie yawned and glanced at the clock. It was 12:35 AM.

"I think we should get some sleep and we'll figure out what to do in the morning. Ok?"

"Yeah, I am getting pretty tired. Good night." He said as he flopped down onto her bed and snuggled against her sheets.

"Edwin..." Lizzie sighed, obviously not amused. "To your own bed please."

"Aww, but your bed is way more soft." He complained as she stood up and pointed to the door. "Fine." He groaned with a smirk and got up. "But I need a soft bed after being tackled to a wooden floor. My back is going to ache for weeks."

"Your fault for scaring me by yelling."

He started walking, "I only yelled because..." he suddenly struck his other toe really hard on the same thing that had stubbed him before and cried out, "Ow!"

Lizzie clamped a hand over his mouth before he woke up the whole house and tried not to laugh as she opened her door and peeked outside.

"Ok, the coast is clear. Try not to injure yourself on the way up the stairs." She smiled as he stuck out his tongue at her and limped out.

"And why don't you try picking up your things from the floor."

"I'll put my rollerblades wherever I want." She said and then closed her door.

"Stupid rollerblades." Edwin groaned and headed up the stairs to bed.

**Did you hate it? Was it all right...? What did you think? I really wasn't sure about having any Lizzie/Edwin stuff like that but they're pretty cute together and I know some people have been wanting it, so there you go. It's not going to become a big thing in the story though. Casey and Derek are the main characters and the ones I am focusing on more since this story was created about them. I hope you understand. Please review! =) And please forgive me for my weak immune system that makes me incapable of updating fast... I really am sorry. =(**


	18. Brain Freeze

**Hey guys! Sorry it took a little long again... My dad still hasn't gone for surgery. They keep rescheduling him. It's driving us insane! So now he'll hopefully be having it this Tuesday... Thanks for all the reviews! I always love reading them! I know some of you are not big fans of Lizzie/Edwin, I never used to be either, but it was jsut something I thought I would add... There won't be a lot, trust me. This is a Derek/Casey fanfic. =) Enjoy the next chapter. **

**Chapter 18**

**Brain Freeze**

"Casey, honey, are you still sick?"

Casey slowly opened her eyes to see her mother sitting beside her on the bed. She'd hardly gotten a wink of sleep that night and let out a groan because it was already morning.

"Casey, are you going to school?" Her mother asked with a concerned tone as she felt her head. "You don't feel warm but something is obviously wrong..."

"What time is it?" Casey asked with a sleepy voice and turned over to look at her clock. "I'm late!" She cried as she shot up in bed.

"Honey, are you sure you should even be going to school today? Last night you didn't come down for supper because you said you were sick, and now you've slept in...Why don't you just stay home?"

"B-but, Mom..." Casey tried to object.

"You don't look too well, Casey. I advise that you get some rest." Nora said and stood up.

"But, Mom, my perfect attendance record..."

"One day won't kill you," she smiled. "Now lay back down and I will go call the school."

"B...but..."

_Wait a minute! This is perfect! If you stay home from school then you won't have to go and face Derek... or Emily for that matter. It will give you some time to think... But Derek still lives with me. It's not like I can avoid him forever... So don't. But I can't talk to him! Yes you can. You have to. It's the right thing to do. Well... can it at least wait till after school? Duh! That's why you're going to stay home. Oh right._

"If you need anything just call my cell or George's." Her mother said as she began to walk out the door.

"Thanks Mom." Casey smiled.

"When I get home, we're going to talk."

"Talk about what?"

"I just have this feeling that there's something you need to tell me."

_Oh my gosh! She knows!_

"L-like what?" Casey tried to stay calm.

"I don't know... Maybe it's the reason you're feeling so low right now..."

"Mom... I..."

"It's ok. We'll discuss it later. You just relax and get some sleep; I can tell you need it."

Before Casey could say anything more, her mother had already waved bye and closed the door.

Casey shoved her face into her pillow and screamed with all her might, the pillow muffling the sounds from anyone else hearing.

_When did my life become so complicated? That's easy... The day your mother married George. _She sighed. _Why me?_

* * *

Derek's head was pounding and he felt like throwing up. He opened his eyes and glanced at the clock. He was late. _Oh well it's only gym and I'm already good at that class anyway. _

There was a knock at his door and Nora's voice spoke from behind it, "Derek, are you getting up? You're late for school."

"Yeah, yeah." He called back with a wave of his hand. "I'm up."

"And Casey isn't going to school today, so if you could please pick up her homework for her that would be great."

_Casey's not going to school? Wow, she'll do anything to avoid talking to me. _

"Derek? Can you do that please?"

"Whatever." He said as he stood up.

"Thanks. I'm leaving now, so hurry up and get to school."

Derek ignored her as he reached into a drawer and grabbed a shirt. He was about to just throw on some clothes and go but then he remembered his plan for the day.

_I want to look good, not to mention smell good, so shower it is. School can wait._

* * *

"So you talked to George?" Lizzie asked as she approached Edwin's locker at school.

"Yeah... but he's really suspicious. He thinks we're planning something mischievous." Edwin said as he pulled his science textbook out.

"Did you tell him that Casey and Derek would be home too?"

"Yeah and then he thought that Derek had put me up to asking him because Derek is the one up to something."

"Can you blame him for thinking that? Derek can talk you into anything."

"Not anymore. I'm done doing what he says."

"Well it's about time." She smiled.

"Yeah, well anyway, I'll try talking to my dad again after school. Hopefully before Derek or Casey get home."

"Ok, and I will talk to my mom."

Edwin closed his locker and glanced around the hall, "Do you think this will really work?"

"It got them together the first time didn't it?"

"Unintentionally, but yes."

"We'll get them together again, don't worry."

"All right. If you're positive."

"I am. I know my sister, and she can't stay away from him for long."

"I'm just worried about Derek. He's planning something and I have a feeling it won't turn out good."

Lizzie looked at him and placed her hands on his shoulders, "It'll be fine. If Derek makes a stupid mistake (like usual) we'll fix it. He loves Casey too and I know he wants to be with her just as much as she wants to be with him. All we need is the parents out of the house, so that's what we need to focus on."

Edwin nodded, avoiding her eyes. He hated the feeling he was getting in his stomach from her presence. _Casey and Derek is one thing but Liz and I..._ _We're just friends._

"Ok... well I have to get to class." Lizzie said as she glanced around and stepped back with a nervous smile. "I'll see you later, Ed."

"Yeah, see you later." Edwin smiled sheepishly as she waved and walked towards her next class.

* * *

Casey finally decided to get out of bed and go downstairs to find something to eat. She hadn't eaten since early yesterday and her stomach was becoming extremely frustrated with her as it continued to growl louder and louder.

She had slept till noon and then read a book for a while, trying not to think about the moment she'd have to face him. It was already almost 2 PM. School ended at 3, so Derek would be coming home in an hour or so, unless he was going to avoid her again as well.

_What am I going to do?_

Casey descended the stairs and walked into the kitchen. It was strange being in the house when it was so quiet and empty. One half of her loved the silence and lack of people but the other half missed the noise and chaos of her family she'd grown to accept and love.

_And one I've grown to love even more._

Casey had to admit that she missed Derek. Yeah, it had only been one day but when you love someone you want to spend every moment of your life with that person. Even if they can be a jerk sometimes... But she was a jerk too.

_A huge jerk._

She opened a cupboard and pulled out a package of oatmeal but then put it back, opened the freezer and pulled out a carton of coconut cream pie ice-cream instead. _Yum. _It was one of her favourites. No one else in the house liked it, so she didn't have to worry about anyone stealing it.

Casey grabbed a table spoon and took the ice-cream into the living room as she sat down and turned on the TV. She glanced over at Derek's chair and then down at the remote in her hand. She instantly remembered the argument that had started the whole thing a few days ago.

_If I had just gone into my room and ignored Derek to begin with, we would have never fought over the remote, Derek wouldn't have ended up on top of me -about to kiss me- I would never have broken Mom's lamp -which was the boiling point with George- and I would never have been locked in the basement with Derek! _She sighed as she shoved a huge spoonful of ice-cream in her mouth.

_It was obviously meant to be... If none of that had ever happened, then something else would have. You two have always loved each other and the tension would have broken eventually. So no matter what, you still would have kissed and you still would have ended up going out._

Casey shoved another spoonful in her mouth, bigger this time.

_But I wouldn't let it happen. We are stepsiblings... we just can't love each other like that. But you do anyway. Well not for long. Who are you kidding, Casey? If you wanted to forget about Derek, then you wouldn't be stuffing yourself with ice-cream at the moment. _

She ate another scoop before thinking and suddenly her head began to ache.

_Aagh! Brain Freeze! Well that's what you get for ignoring your feelings._

Casey set the carton of ice-cream down on the coffee table and held her aching head until the pain was gone.

_Yeah, I admit I still love him and I want to be with him... but... Casey, who cares about the buts!?! YOU SHOULDN'T! If Derek doesn't then why should you? It just scares me... If people can't accept it, then who needs them? If you were real blood related siblings, then that is a whole other story, but you're not! And come on, what did they expect when they put two attractive, hormonal teenagers in the same house anyway? It must have at least crossed their minds a couple of times... _

_So you're saying that I should never have broken up with Derek? For someone who gets straight A's in school, you're not very bright when it comes to yourself... _

Casey sighed as she glanced at Derek's chair and thought about the way he made her feel. _What was that word again? Woozy! Derek makes me woozy! I need him. I can't live without him_

Casey suddenly jumped up and exclaimed, "I made a huge mistake! I have to tell him! I have to get him back! I love Derek and it shouldn't matter what Emily or my parents or the kids at school think, we are meant to be together!"

She smiled as she glanced at the clock. It was already 2:30 PM. She didn't have much time until he got home.

_I have to shower, get dressed, do my hair, and do my makeup... all in a half an hour! _

Casey darted up the stairs completely forgetting about the carton of ice-cream that was now melting on the coffee table in the living room. Derek was more important.

Casey finished getting ready just as she heard the door open downstairs and someone walk in. Her stomach was already full of flittering butterflies as she smiled into the mirror. Her hair was straightened and she was wearing a black t-shirt with a white tank top underneath and a beige skirt that went just over her knees. She looked good, she had to admit.

_I can't wait to feel him in my arms again and to kiss him like I've never kissed him before. I know he won't be able to resist me then. I will win him back, I promise._

Casey opened the bathroom door and began to make her way downstairs, trying not to seem too excited just yet. She wanted to see how he would react first. However, Derek wasn't the person who had come into the house just now. It was only Lizzie and Edwin and they were whispering about something as they hung up their coats.

Casey cleared her throat and they both stopped talking instantly and looked her way.

"Wow, Case, you look good. What's the occasion?" Lizzie asked with a shocked expression.

Casey smiled, "Can I talk to you, Liz?"

"Sure."

"Alone..."

Lizzie glanced at Edwin and shrugged, "If it's about Derek, he knows. He actually knew before me."

"Oh..." Casey made her way down the last few steps and stood in front of them. "I have something to tell you."

"What is it?"

"I've decided to not care what the world thinks. I love Derek and that's all that matters!" She beamed excitedly.

"Really?" Both teens said at the same time.

"Yes, I'm going to tell him as soon as he walks through that door."

"Yes!" They both high-fived each other with huge smiles on their faces and Lizzie hugged Casey.

"I've got your back, sis." Lizzie smiled.

"Awe, thanks, Liz!"

"Hey, I do too!" Edwin shouted.

Casey pulled them both into an embrace, "You guys are awesome! Derek and I are lucky to have siblings like you."

Just then the front door opened and in walked Derek... with another girl!

**Some of you are probably screaming right now, "Aahhh! Not another cliffhanger!! WHY?!!" Sorry about that. I know it's pretty mean to leave it off right there... but I had to. **

**And I know some things in this chapter were pretty lame. Haha. But I'm tired and I forced myself to sit and write this chapter today just for you guys, so it may not be the best... but it will have to do because I am tired of writing right now... Even though I still have to update my other story that I'm working on... Sigh. I guess that's what you get when you want to be a writer. O well. **

**And I thought I should just let you know that I will be going away this Wednesday on a trip to Vancouver with my band and won't be back till Sunday, so I will seriously try, and TRY being the key word, to update before then. Things just might get pretty hectic, so I might not get the time because we have to practise and I have wash clothes and pack, etc. We're leaving at 3:30 AM and we're for 13 hours driving. It's going to be crazy. But I know it will be fun as well. =) I hope you all have a great week and please review. =) You guys Rock!**


	19. Like A Sack Of Bricks

**I am sooooo sorry!! I wrote this chapter on the night that I was leaving and I put it on here... but for some strange reason when I got home tonight and went to read your wonderful reviews for chapter 19, there were none. I was like WHAT? =0 So I don't know how that happened... maybe it's because I did it at 1 AM without getting any sleep and I was all stressed, etc... who knows... but I am extremely SORRY about that. I feel so bad. =(**

**Here is the chapter now at least. I hope you're not too dissapointed with me... and I hope you like it...**

**Chapter 19**

**Like a Sack of Bricks**

Casey, Edwin, and Lizzie all stood there with mouths agape as Derek stood in the doorway with his arm around some blonde bimbo none of them recognized.

"Uh... Derek, who is that?" Edwin spoke first.

Derek glanced at Casey but before she could even read his eyes he quickly turned away and hung up his leather jacket on the coat rack.

"Hi, I'm Elizabeth but you can call me Bethy for short." The blonde girl smiled. She was dressed in a pink mini skirt and a _very_ low cut black t-shirt, the girl was practically falling out and she didn't seem to care.

Casey didn't know what to say. What could she say? Here she was about to tell Derek that she was sorry, that she loved him, and that she wanted to be with him no matter what people would say.

_How could he do this?_

Casey felt Lizzie take her hand and squeeze it reassuringly. She was trying so hard not to freak out and burst into tears right there.

"What is she doing here?" Edwin asked as he glared at _Bethy._

Derek shrugged, avoiding Casey's icy stare, as he wrapped his arm around the girl and pulled her close, "I thought Bethy here would want to meet the family."

Bethy giggled, "We only met last night but Derek insisted that I come over."

"DEREK HOW COULD YOU?" Edwin suddenly shouted with rage.

Casey couldn't take it anymore, "Excuse me?" She said to Bethy and ran up the stairs without looking back. Technically it wasn't Bethy's fault that Derek was a jerk, so she couldn't be rude and just leave without excusing herself. She actually felt bad for the girl because he was only using her to get back at Casey, and that was low, even for Derek.

Casey made it to her bedroom, closed the door, and couldn't even make it to her bed as her knees gave away and she fell to the floor. She just sat there, in a trance with no tears, which was pretty surprising, and stared at the wall across from her.

_How could I be so stupid? I am so embarrassed... I NEVER want to speak to that SLIME again!!_

* * *

"What was that all about?" Bethy asked in an innocent voice as she looked up at Derek, still cuddled to his side.

Derek took a step away from her, ignoring her question. Right now he was too preoccupied with the death glares he was getting from his younger siblings.

His plan had worked. _I got the revenge I wanted. That will show Casey that she can't just forget me and kick me out of her life. She deserved it... But then why do I feel so crummy?_

The look in her eyes when he'd walked in the door were still etched on the insides of his eyelids, she'd been hurt big time.

_But she's the one that broke up with me! So why does she care now if I bring home another girl? _

"Derek, I can't believe you would do that to her!" Edwin shouted. "I knew you were stupid, but that was the most idiotic thing you have ever done!"

"I'm sorry, am I missing something here?" Bethy asked as she looked from Derek to Edwin with a puzzled expression.

"What do you know?" Derek snapped at his brother, again ignoring Bethy's question.

"I know that Casey was about to tell you that it didn't matter what people thought, and that she would rather be with the person she loves more than anything." Edwin said as he crossed his arms. "And now you've ruined it, again."

Derek didn't know what to say, he was too stunned and embarrassed.

_Casey still wants to be with me? What have I done? _The realization of his mistake hit him like a sack of bricks and he felt like he was going to throw up.

"It's her fault." The words slipped out before he could stop them.

"What?" Lizzie and Edwin gasped at the same time.

Derek turned to Bethy and put on a fake smile, "I'm sorry, babe, but right now is really not a good time for me..."

Bethy frowned, "I get it, Derek. You only made out with me at the party because you were angry and wanted revenge on someone, obviously the girl who just ran up the stairs almost in tears, and that's why you asked me over today as well isn't it?"

Derek nodded as he stared at the tiles on the floor and rubbed the back of his neck, "You're a great girl and all but..."

_Smack!_

Derek held his now throbbing cheek as he stared at Bethy who'd just slapped him, "I guess I deserved that."

"Stay away from me from now on. I can't stand guys that will use someone for their own benefit, especially when it involves hurting someone else. You disgust me, Derek Venturi." Bethy scowled as she walked past him, opened the front door and slammed it on her way out.

"How could you say that it's Casey's fault?" Lizzie asked immediately as she took a menacing step towards him. "How could you do that to her?"

"Look what she did to me!"

"She was scared! Not everyone is like you Derek!"

Derek sighed, "Look, I'm sorry ok, but she's partly to blame for this too. Yeah, I was upset and got a little drunk last night at a party and made out with a complete stranger, but she said she wanted to _forget _me. That's harsh."

"And she was sorry for it! Casey got all dressed up for you and was so excited to see you and then you just crushed her!"

"How can you live with yourself, Derek?" Edwin added with a disapproving look and a shake of the head.

Derek groaned as he made his way towards the stairs.

"You know, Derek, I used to look up to you," Edwin said. "I wanted to be just like you... but now I realize that you're just a jerk who can't even face the girl he loves."

Derek looked away as he sprinted up the steps and stopped once he'd made it to his door.

_I am a jerk. How could I do that to her? And I just blamed it on her!?! What is wrong with me?!_

Derek glanced at Casey's door and wanted so badly to just walk in, take her in his arms, and apologize for all the mean things he's ever done to her, especially what he'd just done to her. But he couldn't.

_It'll only make things worse at this point. I'll just let her cool down and then I will try to approach her tonight._

He quietly entered his room, hating himself for what he'd done.

* * *

"Do you think it will really work? Especially now with what just happened?" Edwin asked as he and Lizzie sat on the couch. They'd just finished convincing their parents to go out for an evening together since they hadn't been on a date in a long time. They were of course hesitant but finally gave in after an hour and a half, got dressed and left.

"We have to try."

Edwin sighed as he stared at the blank TV screen, "Do think we were a little harsh with Derek earlier?"

"After what he said about Casey? No way." She shook her head.

"Yeah, but I could tell he really was sorry for what he'd done and knew that he'd made a horrible mistake in bringing that girl here."

"Well now he can make it up to her," Lizzie smiled as she stood up, "so let's get to work. We don't have much time."

"Hopefully we can convince them to go along..."

"We just have to be really sneaky and that's why we are now recruiting one of the sneakiest people we know."

"Let's go find her then." Edwin said as he stood up and they both made their way up the stairs in search of their younger sister, Marti.

* * *

"So you know what to do right?" Edwin asked as he looked Marti in the eyes.

She nodded, "I just still can't believe you guys didn't tell me about this sooner. I can keep a secret you know? I always had a feeling they liked each other anyway."

"We know, Marti, and we are really sorry, but now it's up to you to do what we said in order for this plan to work." Lizzie smiled as she knelt down to her stepsister's height. "You sure you're up for the challenge?"

"Yes, sir!" Marti said as she saluted her and then giggled.

"All right then. Good luck, soldier." Lizzie saluted her back with a grin. "Edwin and I will be waiting downstairs. Just do as we practised."

"No problemo."

"Ok, let's go, we don't have a lot of time..." Edwin said as he grabbed Lizzie by the arm and began pulling her towards the stairs.

* * *

Casey was lying in her bed, staring up at the ceiling, trying her hardest to just forget that Derek Venturi had ever even come into her life to begin with. It was impossible however, especially since she knew he was in the room right next to her. She could hear him shuffling about every once in a while and it made her head and her heart ache.

_How could I have been so stupid yet again? Why do I always fall for the wrong guys? Sam and I always fought, Max changed me into someone I was not, Truman cheated on me with my cousin, and now Derek... _She sighed.

She'd been forcing herself not to cry all night. She'd done enough of that yesterday. And she couldn't fall asleep since she'd slept most of the say today, so she just laid there like a rock, her mind scrambling in a frying pan, full of confused and angry thoughts.

Casey wanted nothing to do with Derek anymore. He'd had his last chance and he'd blown it.

She didn't care if she still loved him or that she missed him, all she wanted was for him to go bury himself in a ditch somewhere and leave her alone. _I hate Derek Venturi._

* * *

Derek sat in his computer chair and stared at a blank screen. He kept telling himself to just get up and walk into her room and apologize or say something but every time the thought crossed his mind, his body wasn't willing to oblige.

_What would I say? She'll only scream at me or worse... she'll completely ignore me... I still love her; I love her so much... _He groaned. _But I don't now how to face her now. I'm ashamed of what I've done. She didn't deserver that. No one deserves that._

He got up and began pacing.

_I have to do something... I can't just sit here all night. I need to talk to her, I have to set things straight... But how?_

* * *

As Casey and Derek battled with their thoughts inside their bedrooms, a high pitched, bone shrilling scream suddenly filled the house and both teens rushed out of their rooms to see what had happened and who was screaming.

**Sorry there wasn't any Derek/Casey interaction in this chapter either... but I promise that the next one will have lots! So don't worry!**

**My dad is doing a lot better. He had his surgery last Tuesday and the doctors said he should feel way better after it. The only thing I am really, really upset about is that he went back to smoking as soon as he got out. I haven't been able to see him yet, since I just got back, but when I do he will be getting a piece of my mind. Arrg! It makes me so mad! Oh and thanks so much to all the people who were praying and thinking of my dad while he was in the hospital. I am truly grateful for that. It means a lot. =)**

**And just in case anyone was wondering... My trip was Awesome!! We had so much fun!! And I learnt so much!! I really wish we could have stayed longer, especially because the weahter was so much nocer there than here. =( But I guess it feels a little good to be home as well... I am just not looking forward to all the stress that this week will bring. Sigh. I'm not even going to bore you guys with those details. But yeah, overall I had a great time.**

**Thanks so much for reading my story and for all the awesome reviews! Keep it up, I love them!! =)**

**And again, I am so sorry about that mistake...**


	20. It Took Them

**Finally I am back! I am so sorry it has taken forever for me to update but I have been extrememly busy and sooo stressed out that I have had no time to write. Please forgive me? Here is the last chapter of Locked In. I thought I might as well end it now since I seriously don't have time anymore to continue... I have a lot going on... I will have an epilogue within the next week or two though, so techincally it's not over just yet... But yeah, here it is, so enjoy... And I'm warning you... It's pretty cheesy. haha. **

**Chapter 20**

**It Took Them!**

Casey and Derek both stopped in their tracks when they saw Marti standing outside their doors with a frightened expression on her face.

"Marti, what's wrong?" Derek asked immediately as he knelt down to his sister's height.

"Why were you screaming?" Casey asked as she stared at her with concern.

"Come with me!" Marti cried as she grabbed both of their hands in hers and began to lead them towards the stairs.

Casey glanced at Derek and he stared back, he was as confused as her, and was that guilt she saw in his eyes? She quickly turned away and focused on her step-sister who was acting very strange, even stranger than usual.

"Marti, where are you taking us? What is going on?" Casey asked.

"Yeah, and where are Ed and Lizzie?" Derek scanned the hall.

"Something's happened." Marti said as they began to walk down the stairs. She was still holding their hands.

Casey was becoming suspicious but she was also worried as well. What if something serious has happened? She hated being this close to Derek. All she wanted was to hit him and scream in his face but she knew she couldn't. Not right now, anyway. Wherever Marti was leading them was more important at the moment.

"What's happened?" Casey tried to ask as they entered the kitchen.

"Down there." Marti pointed towards the open door to the basement.

Casey shivered. She never wanted to enter that basement again, not after what happened down there. It was the reason her emotions were so screwed up. It was the cause of this whole stupid mess.

"What's down there?" Derek asked.

"Something happened. Lizzie and Edwin are missing. It took them." Marti explained with a serious expression.

"Is this some kind of joke?" He cocked his eyebrow at her.

Marti shook her head, "You need to go down there, both of you."

"I c-can't... go down t-there." Casey stuttered as she let go of her stepsister's hand.

"You have to! It took them!"

"What took them?" Derek questioned with his hands on his hips.

"Just go down there and see for yourselves!" Marti suddenly screamed with a red face.

Derek looked at Casey and she shook her head, "No way. I am not going back into that basement, especially with _Derek_." She said as she looked at Marti.

"So then you don't care about Lizzie and Edwin?" She looked hurt.

"Marti, what is really going on here?" Derek spoke up. "Where are the tweens really?"

"Downstairs, just like I said." She shrugged. "Now you and Casey have to go save them before it's too late!"

Derek sighed and narrowed his eyes at his little sister, "Smarti... tell the truth."

"I... I..."

"Aahhh!!"

All of a sudden a cry of pain sounded from downstairs.

"Was that Edwin?" Casey asked as she looked at them.

"Casey, Derek, Edwin's hurt! Come quick!" Lizzie's voice shouted.

Casey and Derek sprinted down the stairs in a mad dash. Despite Casey saying she would never go down there again, she had no choice. Edwin could be seriously injured.

They searched the basement but found no sign of Edwin or Lizzie.

"The bedroom." Derek suggested.

Casey stared at the door to her parent's bedroom and didn't move, actually she couldn't move.

"Casey, come on!" Derek shouted. "Ed's hurt!"

"I... I can't..." She shook her head.

"I know it's the last place you want to be right now, especially with me, but this isn't about us right now." He said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the door.

Butterflies filled her stomach when she realized he'd taken her hand in his, but then they quickly vanished when she remembered how much of a jerk he was and she pulled her hand away from him.

Derek let her hand fall from his as he opened the door and peered inside.

_Wow, he's really concerned... _Casey thought with surprise. _Maybe he really does care about his family..._

"What the heck?" He said with irritation as he turned to look at her. "They're not in here."

"What?" Casey shoved past him and looked inside. The only things in the room were their parent's furniture. No sign of Lizzie or Edwin. "But we looked everywhere... And I heard them yell..."

"Me too..."

"So then where are they?"

_Bang!_

Derek and Casey both jumped as they turned and ran for the stairs where they'd heard the door slam shut.

Derek made it to the top first and twisted the handle, "They locked us in!"

"What?!" Casey shrieked as she shoved him away from the door and tried the knob herself. It was locked.

"Smarti..." Derek calmly spoke, "open the door."

"I'm sorry but Marti cannot take your call right now, so please leave a message after the beep. Beeeeeeeeep." Marti's voice replied from the other side.

"Marti... This isn't funny. Unlock the door and I'll take you out for all the ice cream you can eat."

"Derek, you can't do that. She'll get sick." Casey scolded as she crossed her arms.

Derek rolled his eyes, "What, you think she'll take the bribe if I offer all the spinach she can eat?" He snapped sarcastically.

They heard giggling from the other side and realized that Marti wasn't alone.

Casey became really angry now and slammed her fist on the door,

"Lizzie, Edwin, you unlock this door this instant!"

"We can't Casey, not until you and Derek sort things out." Edwin replied.

Casey glanced at Derek and his eyes went wide.

"You little brats! You planned this whole thing just to get us to talk?" Derek

snapped.

"Well... Marti sort of changed the story around... but yeah, we planned it. It's for your own good."

"Hey! What was wrong with my story! I still got them to come didn't I?" Marti shouted in offence.

"You were supposed to stick to what we practiced..."

Casey interrupted their little argument, "Lizzie, how could you do this to me?" She asked, sounding so betrayed and hurt.

"I'm sorry; Casey, but you gave me no other choice..." Lizzie answered.

"Now, quit your complaining and go talk or make out or whatever... but_ please_ just make up already!" Edwin shouted.

"You guys love each other, so quit acting like children and grow up." Lizzie added.

Before Casey or Derek could respond, they heard their younger siblings walk out of the kitchen without another word.

"Lizzie, Edwin, Marti! Get back here right now! You let us out of here!" Casey screamed as she hammered her fists against the door repeatedly in rage. "Unlock this door!"

"Take it easy, Case, they can't keep us down here forever." Derek spoke from behind her.

"You shut up!" She turned to face him. "I don't want to even hear your voice! Got it?" She snapped with a scowl and then turned back to the door. "I order you to unlock this door!" She began shouting to her siblings who were probably long gone by now.

"Casey... they're right... we need to talk..." Derek spoke with a serious tone.

Casey spun around and glared at him, "There is _nothing _to talk about." She shoved past him as she made her way down the stairs.

"Casey..." Derek started after her.

"Leave me alone!" She shouted as she walked into their parent's room and slammed the door in his face, shutting him out once again.

_ * * *_

_I cannot believe they would do this to me! Especially Lizzie! How dare they lock me down here with him! In the basement of all places! I could kill them!_

Casey was pacing her mother and stepfather's bedroom; she'd been pacing for about a half hour now wondering why she still hadn't heard anything from Derek. _Wait... Why do I care anyway? I don't care if I haven't heard from him... I don't care that he hasn't even tried to talk to me again... I don't care. All Derek cares about is that blonde bimbo Becky... or Bethy... or whatever her name is! It was all just some sick prank! I hate him! I hate Derek! _

_Will you quit saying that you hate him already? You don't hate him. Yes I do! I hate Derek Venturi with a passion! No... you love Derek Venturi with a passion. No I don't! At least not anymore! How could I after what he did to me? You know Casey... it's partly your fault... You broke his heart... and Derek only did what Derek does... he was avoiding his feelings by trying to get back at you. He still loves you... Well I don't care! Yes you do..._

Casey groaned loudly as she threw herself onto the bed and buried her face in her mother's pillow. _Just leave me alone!_

* * *

"She won't talk to me. What am I supposed to do?" Derek asked as he sat at the top of the stairs with his head against the locked door.

"Force her to talk to you." Edwin replied from the other side.

"That might anger Casey more..." Lizzie's voice suggested.

"Sing her a song, Smerek!" Marti's voice announced with excitement.

"Thanks, Smarti, but I need to be able to sing in order to do that." Derek said as he let out heavy sigh and banged his head on the door a couple of times.

Derek knew his siblings meant well by locking them up together and he forgave them for tricking him into it, but he was seriously wondering why he was asking for help from them. _I'm Derek Venturi... I can win over any girl. I have charm, good looks, a great body... and... I'm... witty...? But this isn't just any girl! This is Casey McDonald we're talking about! The girl I fell in love with! My step-sister... _He let out another sigh of frustration. "WHAT am I going to do?"

"Well firstly, you should stop hitting your head against the door because I doubt Casey will really be attracted to you when you've lost even more brain cells than you already have." Edwin suggested while insulting him.

"Thanks, _bro_." Derek bit back sarcastically.

"Any time."

"Look, Derek, this is up to you, not us. You're the one that is in love with Casey, so go and tell her." Lizzie spoke up.

"Yeah... and you better hurry because we have about an hour or so left before Dad and Nora get home from their _date_." Edwin said.

"You can do it, Smerek! I believe in you! Fight for your love!" Marti cried enthusiastically.

Derek stood up, "Yeah, I _can _do this! At least I hope anyway..." He sat back down. "But what if she really does hate my guts and never wants to speak to me again?"

"I doubt it, D. Like you said, 'No girl can resist the Venturi charm'." Edwin quoted.

"And, trust me, Derek, Casey still loves you. She's just waiting for you to make things right."

"But why can't she be the one to make things right? She's the one that broke up with me in the first place?" He complained.

"She was going to until you brought that girl home with you!" Lizzie snapped. "Now quit complaining and move!"

"Yeah, get your butt down there and win your girl back!" Edwin agreed.

"Good luck, Derek!" Marti shouted.

"Ok... Thanks, guys. And just so you know... this whole conversation was really cheesy."

"We know." They all said together as Derek began to make his way back down the stairs.

* * *

As Casey flipped through a magazine that had been sitting on her mother's end table by the bed her mind drifted to the magazine that Derek had dropped in the toilet. She knew that he'd only done it so that she would pay attention to him. _That's Derek for you, always has to be the center of attention..._

She began reading through the latest celebrity gossip that was going around. It showed a famous actress caught with no makeup on in public. Casey examined the picture. _The actress wasn't wearing make up, so what? It's the end of the world because she doesn't look as pretty without it?! It's only because they caught her making the wrong face at the wrong time._ Casey sighed and skipped to the next page. She'd always felt sorry for celebrities in a way because of the things that got put out there about them. She knew some of them just did it for publicity but others just wanted to be left alone and not have lies made up about them every second. _It's ridiculous some of the things that get said about people just because they're famous._

Casey was about to start reading an article about teen fashion when there was a light knock at the door.

"Go away, Derek!" She snapped.

_He's finally decided to try again... What took him so long?_

"Casey, please, can I come in?" He asked with desperation in his voice.

A small part of her wanted to jump off the bed and yank open the door to his beautiful face but the other part of her remained on the bed with the magazine still in her hands.

"I said go away!" She shouted as she turned the page.

"You can't avoid me forever you know... eventually we are going to have to talk... So why not now?"

She hated how even the sound of his voice was making her stomach do flip flops.

"It's too late, Derek, so leave me alone to wallow in peace!"

"Wallow in peace?" He scoffed. "Just let me in?"

"I said no."

She heard him sigh, "Fine then... I guess I'll just have to talk to you from out here..."

"Go ahead but I won't be listening. Whatever you have to say to me doesn't matter anymore. I DON"T CARE." She stated as she flipped another page and tried to focus on the words printed before her.

"Look, Case, I know I made a stupid mistake, a _very _stupid mistake. I'm a jerk, a _huge_ jerk, I admit it... I should never have done what I did. I not only hurt you but I hurt her as well. Bethy had nothing to do with this. I hardly even know the girl. She means absolutely nothing to me."

_She said you kissed at a party, Derek! How could you not know her already?! I bet you even did more than just kiss since you were probably so wasted._

"And I'll be honest with you... I went to a party, got drunk, and made out with her. But the whole time, all I could think about was you and how much I wanted to prove to you that we could be together even if our parents are married. You hurt me, Case, and I was angry. I was furious because you cared more about what others would think than about me... about us... But that still is no excuse for my actions. I guess I just wasn't thinking clearly..."

_Do you ever?_

"I am sorry, Casey... I really am truly and honestly _sorry_..."

_Tell him you're sorry too... No way!_ _Why not? Because... I just can't..._

He sighed again and she could hear him resting against the door, "Casey, please... say something... anything... even if you want to yell and scream... Just please don't shut me out, please don't ignore me? I can't stand it. I love you, Case. Please tell me you still feel the same...?"

_Go on! Just tell him! You know you want to!_

"I..."

_Say it, Casey, you can do it..._

Casey dropped the magazine and stood up. She was shaking from head-to-toe. _What am I doing? _She questioned. _I can't just give in that easily... But he apologized! Derek still loves you! But... Just get a hold of yourself, walk over there and open the dang door! Quit being such a chicken! _

Casey took a deep breath in and then out as she closed her eyes and tried to stop the shaking. _You can do this, Casey... You love him. I love him. I, Casey McDonald, love Derek Venturi, and I am not afraid to admit it to anyone! Atta girl!_

Casey slowly turned the knob and opened the door to a very distraught and worried Derek. He avoided her eyes. He wasn't sure if she was going to scream at him or hit him or what...

"Derek." Casey spoke softly as she lifted his chin towards her face, so that he was forced to look at her. "I'm sorry too. I was a jerk as well. I let my fear take over me when I shouldn't have cared. If we love each other then that's all that matters. Even if my friends don't get it or our parents disown us... at least we'll still have each other..."

"That is so sappy, Case." Derek smirked, his eyes brightening. "But I love you anyway."

Casey returned the smile as she placed her hand on his cheek, "I love you too."

Derek pulled her into an embrace as their lips met. It was soft at first but then Casey deepened it as she ran her hands through his scraggly hair and he held her by the waist with a firm grip. There was so much passion, even more so now that they were sure of their feelings for one another. It added to the pleasure that was jolting through their lips and down their bodies. It felt so... right.

* * *

Derek was the first to break away from the kiss, gasping for air but wanting to continue. He looked at Casey who was also trying to breath in her loss of oxygen and he smiled. She was so beautiful, so intelligent, so stubborn... and she was all his. He finally had Casey all for himself. She was his true love.

_I am such a sap..._

Casey raised an eyebrow at him as he pulled her close again with a malicious grin on his face, "What?" She asked.

He kissed her again and then pulled away, "So... you want to get married, like right now?"

Casey realized what he was hinting at and smacked his shoulder playfully, "I'm sorry, Derek, but you will just have to wait."

"I know." He smiled. "And I will, even if it takes forever. I'll wait for you."

Casey blushed as she hugged him tight; resting her head against his chest "You really are something, Derek Venturi."

"I know." He grinned as he held her in his arms and kissed her head. "You made me something, you know."

"Well then I'm glad, my plan had worked." She grinned up at him and began kissing him yet again.

Being Locked in the basement with Derek turned out to be not such a horrible thing afterall.

**So... What did you think? Too corny? Too lame? Sad it's over? I am. =( But there will be other stories. I've already got some ideas and will begin writing them once I am not so stressed and overwhelmed with my crazy life... Thanks so much for reading and reviewing and sticking with the story even though I know it frustrated you sometimes... And even thanks to those who were just reading it and not reviewing, I'm still glad you enjoyed it even if you didn't tell me. You guys all Rock!!! I had a lot of fun reading your comments!! It made me feel good to know you guys liked my writing. God Bless!!**


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